What it really means to Ride the Bench

I've been in the Lab. For the last few weeks I've been trying to lay the ground work for my Master Plan: an enzyme assay experiment. To do this right, I've been learning how to use the equipment, compiling and double checking protocols and reagents. I ordered all the reagents, and I've been slowly trying to make all my stocks. The first (NADH) was no problem, I got to the second and immediately hit a Brick Wall. My decylubiquinone would NOT dissolve. I immediately switched to Panic-this-sucks-why-does-everything-have-to-be-so-hard mode. Of course this was my most expensive, and thus least plentiful reagent. Of course it had to be the hardest to prepare. Of course all the literature reported either "Make decylubiquinone solution" or "Reduce decylubiquinol by following these 18 very complicated steps that include the word 'extract' and 'extreme excess'". None said "Don't worry, this is really easy, it just dissolves".

So, I spent 3 days trying to wrap my brain around the possible organic chemistry nuances I was sure I was missing. This morning, in my last act of desperation, I emailed the author of one of the papers I have been referencing. He's located in the Netherlands (DutchLand) and thus I expected either no response, or no response quickly. Imagine my surprise when he responded to me within the hour. "I don't know what your problem is, we just add DMSO and it dissolves like a charm"

I tried again, with new DMSO, and it worked fine.

Turns out: that reagents from 1993 that are stored under dubious conditions in the rusted, dripping, foul smelling chemical room aren't always of the highest quality.