Storage & Handling

Peptides are stable as lyophilized powders but degrade quickly once exposed to moisture, heat, light or repeated freeze-thaw cycles. These guidelines reflect standard laboratory practice for synthetic peptides. Always follow your institution’s procedures and the compound’s published literature.

On arrival

• Move sealed vials to a freezer at −20 °C (or −80 °C for long-term storage) as soon as possible.
• Keep vials in their box or a storage case, away from light.
• Lyophilized peptides tolerate the few days of transit at cool temperatures. If a parcel arrives warm, the material is usually still within specification, but contact us and we’ll advise.

Before opening a vial

Let the sealed vial warm to room temperature in a desiccator, or at least on the bench, for 20–30 minutes before opening. Opening a cold vial draws moisture from the air onto the powder, which accelerates degradation.

Choosing a solvent

Solubility depends on the sequence. A practical order of attempts for an in-vitro stock solution:

1. Sterile water. Suits most short, charged peptides.
2. Dilute acetic acid (around 0.1%) for basic peptides rich in lysine, arginine or histidine.
3. Dilute ammonium bicarbonate or ammonia for acidic peptides rich in aspartate or glutamate.
4. A small volume of DMSO, then dilution with buffer, for hydrophobic sequences. Avoid DMSO with methionine- or cysteine-containing peptides where oxidation matters.

Test solubility on a small portion first. Sonication can help; heating generally shouldn’t be used.

Storing solutions

• Divide stock solutions into single-use aliquots so the main stock is never repeatedly frozen and thawed. Our sterile empty vials are sized for this.
• Store aliquots at −20 °C or below. Most peptides in solution are stable for weeks rather than months, and less for sequences containing Cys, Met, Trp, Asn or Gln.
• Use sterile buffers at pH 5–6 where the assay allows; this slows hydrolysis and deamidation.
• Label every aliquot with the compound, concentration, solvent, date and batch number.

Shelf life at a glance

Form	Condition	Typical stability
Lyophilized, sealed	−20 °C, dark	Several years
Lyophilized, sealed	2–8 °C	Weeks to months
Lyophilized, sealed	Room temperature	Days to weeks
In solution	−20 °C, aliquoted	Weeks, sequence-dependent
In solution	2–8 °C	Days

Safety and disposal

Handle all research chemicals with gloves, eye protection and a lab coat, in line with your lab’s chemical hygiene plan. Dispose of unused material and contaminated sharps through your institution’s chemical and biological waste streams. Our products are not for human or veterinary use.