Research
Plain-language notes on how research peptides are analyzed, made and stored, and summaries of the research on individual compounds. Start with how to read a certificate of analysis, then see what HPLC and mass spectrometry can and cannot show, why a powder is never all peptide, and why dry material is kept cold, dark and dry.
Lab methods
Reading a certificate
- How to read a certificate of analysisA walkthrough of a drawn example certificate, line by line. It shows how to check who issued a report and whether it belongs to the lot in your hands, what a method can and cannot tell you, and what a certificate leaves out.
- HPLC and how to read a chromatogramHow reversed-phase HPLC separates a sample, and how to read the chromatogram it produces. It covers retention time, peak area, area-percent purity and its limits, with a clean and an impure example trace side by side.
- Mass spectrometry: identity, not purityMass spectrometry measures the mass of molecules. This page explains electrospray ionization, the mass-to-charge ratio, multiply charged ions and deconvolution with invented worked numbers, and why a correct mass confirms identity but not purity.
Quality and chemistry
- Purity, net content, net peptide content and salt formsThree numbers, three different questions. This page separates HPLC purity, net content and net peptide content, explains how counterions and water add to a powder’s mass, and works through invented arithmetic showing why a purity of 99% by HPLC does not mean the powder is 99% peptide.
- How peptides are madeMost synthetic peptides are built one amino acid at a time on a solid resin. This page walks through Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis, from deprotection and coupling to cleavage and purification by preparative HPLC, and shows with simple arithmetic why some impurities are unavoidable.
Handling science
- Why research peptides ship as a powderResearch peptides are supplied as a freeze-dried powder because water drives several of the reactions that slowly change them. This page explains lyophilization step by step: freezing, sublimation under vacuum, secondary drying, the cake and residual moisture.
- Storage science for lyophilized materialDry peptide material changes slowly, and three things set the pace: temperature, light and moisture. This page explains the chemistry behind each, from reaction rates to photo-oxidation to water uptake and condensation, and why the rule is cold, dark and dry.
Compound research
The examples on the explainer pages are invented. Compound research pages summarize published studies and regulatory documents, and no page links to a product.