Research & Educational Content Only — Not Medical Advice. All compounds referenced are for in-vitro and in-vivo laboratory research use only. Not intended for human or unsupervised veterinary application.
Reading a Certificate of Analysis
How to actually parse a COA — what to look for, what's marketing fluff, and the three numbers that matter most when verifying a compound.
Most COAs are formatted to overwhelm. Pages of numbers, jargon, multiple test methods. The point isn't to confuse — it's to be thorough. But three lines do most of the work.
First: HPLC purity. This tells you how much of the sample is the compound versus everything else. Anything under 98% on a research peptide deserves a second look.
Second: identity confirmation. Usually mass spectrometry. The molecular weight on the certificate should match the known molecular weight of the compound. If it doesn't, walk away.
Third: water content. Lyophilized peptides hold residual moisture, and too much affects stability. A clean COA reports it under 6%.
Everything else — endotoxin levels, residual solvents, appearance — is supporting context. Not optional, but those three are the spine.
For Research & Educational Purposes Only — Not Medical Advice
All content published in G3 Field Notes is for scientific research and educational purposes only. Nothing in this article constitutes medical advice, a treatment recommendation, clinical guidance, or instructions for human or veterinary application of any compound. Research compounds referenced are not approved by the FDA or any other regulatory agency for human use and are sold exclusively for in-vitro and in-vivo laboratory research in properly licensed and equipped facilities.
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