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I want to reuse some plastic and glass items that I am using to do colorimetric concentration analysis of serum and urine. There are some enzymatic assays, mineral assays and so on. I have been trying to soak in hydrochloric acid (pH 1.5) for 30 minutes and rinse in distilled water. But it seems the items are not satisfactory clean because when I use them, it seems drops cling to the surface as if there are microscopic impurities on the surface.

What is recommended for cleaning in this situation?

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    $\begingroup$ I used to use chromic acid for cleaning glassware for analytes in HPLC applications, and it worked very well. This guide might be of use. $\endgroup$
    – Todd Minehardt
    Sep 15, 2021 at 19:44
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    $\begingroup$ Please don't suggest chromic acid. It is too dangerous and carcinogenic. We have no idea of the student's handling expertise. Plastic cuvets have to land in garbage. $\endgroup$
    – AChem
    Sep 15, 2021 at 20:06
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    $\begingroup$ Likely, there won't be one solution to everything for the history (what kind of sample/sample digest/derivatization) took place in the container made of glass or plastic. «Plastic» itself comprises a wide range of polymers with different resistance toward chemicals, too. I speculate biology.se is better suited to answer this kind of question with currently 500 entries found for keyword «cleaning», including this one. $\endgroup$
    – Buttonwood
    Sep 15, 2021 at 20:25

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