Research Notes
Neutral, research-framed overviews of the compounds in our catalogue — origins, studied mechanisms, and what the published literature does and doesn't show.
- Analysis and testing
KLOW: Four Compounds in One Vial, and What One Purity Figure Leaves Out
A CAS number names one substance; a molecular formula describes one molecule. KLOW is four of each, and the four differ in mass by a factor of 14.5 — enough that one purity percentage says less than it appears to.
Read → - Compound overview
Glutathione: The Bond Written With a Greek Letter, and the Dimer It Turns Into
Three residues, but the first two are joined the wrong way round for a peptidase to notice. And the single sulfur is a thiol that would rather be a disulfide — so a vial of GSH is always, slowly, becoming a vial of GSSG.
Read → - Characterisation
5-Amino-1MQ: Not a Peptide, and 44% of the Vial Is Iodide
On a peptide, an acetate counter-ion is about 7% of the weight. Here the counter-ion is iodide and it is 44%. A 100 mg vial holds roughly 56 mg of the cation, and the arithmetic is checkable from the formula on the product page.
Read → - Compound overview
MOTS-c: 16 Residues Written in Mitochondrial DNA, and Two Methionines to Account For
The name is a description: Mitochondrial ORF of the Twelve-S rRNA, type c. The two sulfurs in its molecular formula are the two methionines, and they are the reason this peptide has three oxidised forms rather than one.
Read → - Compound overview
HGH at 191 Amino Acids: What Somatropin's Size Changes About Identity and Purity
Oxytocin is nine residues. Somatropin is 191. The same two tests appear on both certificates, and they do not carry the same weight on the second one.
Read → - Characterisation
Acetate on a Peptide Label: Salt, Acetyl, and What the Milligrams Mean
Oxytocin acetate and the Ac- at the start of thymosin alpha-1 use the same word for two different things. One is a salt that could be exchanged away; the other is 42 g/mol of the molecule itself.
Read → - Research comparison
Gonadorelin, HCG, HMG and Kisspeptin: What Sits Where on the Axis
Gonadorelin, HCG, HMG and kisspeptin are routinely lumped together as one thing. They are four different molecules acting at three different levels of the same axis, and only one of them is a peptide in the ordinary sense.
Read → - Compound overview
PT-141 (Bremelanotide): A Research Overview
PT-141 is one of the few compounds in this catalogue whose molecule is an authorised medicine somewhere. That makes the distinction between a licensed product and a research reagent unusually concrete — and worth stating precisely.
Read → - Compound overview
Melanotan II: A Research Overview of a Melanocortin Receptor Agonist
Melanotan II is a synthetic cyclic analogue of α-MSH and a non-selective melanocortin receptor agonist. An overview of the receptor family, the mechanisms studied in the laboratory, and why the consumer marketing attached to this name is both unsupported and the subject of regulatory warnings.
Read → - Laboratory guide
Where CJC-1295 and Ipamorelin Come From, and How to Evaluate a Supply
CJC-1295 and Ipamorelin are made by solid-phase synthesis, purified by preparative HPLC and freeze-dried into vials. A guide to their regulatory status, the batch documentation that makes a supply verifiable, and how to evaluate one.
Read → - Compound overview
DSIP: A Research Overview of Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide
DSIP carries one of the most misleading names in peptide research. A look at the nonapeptide itself, the 1970s isolation that gave it that name, what the literature actually examines, and how identity and purity are verified.
Read → - Explainer
NAD+ and NADH: Structure, Redox Chemistry and Biosynthesis
A biochemistry explainer on nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide: how the molecule is built, how the NAD+/NADH couple carries electrons, how NAD differs from NADP, which enzymes depend on it, and where cells get it from.
Read → - Laboratory guide
How Peptide Purity Is Measured
A methodology explainer on how peptide purity is measured: reading an HPLC chromatogram, confirming identity by mass spectrometry, and the difference between chromatographic purity and net peptide content on a Certificate of Analysis.
Read → - Laboratory guide
What Is Bacteriostatic Water? A Laboratory Solvent Guide
Bacteriostatic water is sterile water with 0.9% benzyl alcohol, used in the laboratory as a multi-use solvent for reconstituting lyophilized research peptides. What it is, how it compares with other water grades, and how it is stored and chosen.
Read → - Compound overview
Tesamorelin: A Research Overview of the GHRH Analogue
Tesamorelin is a stabilized synthetic analogue of GHRH(1-44) studied as a GHRH-receptor agonist in growth-hormone-axis research. An overview of its structure, the mechanism studied, how it relates to other GH-secretagogue peptides, and what the literature does and does not establish.
Read → - Research comparison
Selank vs Semax: A Research Comparison
Selank and Semax are two synthetic peptides that recur in neurochemistry research. A side-by-side look at their origins, structure, the mechanisms studied, and what the literature does and does not establish.
Read → - Compound overview
NAD+: A Research Overview of the Redox Coenzyme
NAD+ is a coenzyme central to cellular redox metabolism and a substrate for sirtuins and PARP enzymes. An overview of its biochemistry, the research interest it attracts, and what the literature does and does not establish.
Read → - Compound overview
TB-500: A Research Overview of the Thymosin β4 Actin-Binding Peptide
TB-500 is a synthetic peptide based on the actin-binding region of Thymosin β4, a peptide that recurs in cytoskeletal and tissue-repair research. An overview of its structure, the mechanisms studied, and what the literature does and does not establish.
Read → - Explainer
How to Read a Peptide Certificate of Analysis (COA)
A Certificate of Analysis is how you tell a real research peptide from an unknown powder. A field-by-field guide to reading a COA — what each line means, what good looks like, and the red flags.
Read → - Explainer
What “Research Use Only” Actually Means
“Research use only” is more than a label — it defines what these compounds are and are not. A plain-language explainer of the RUO designation, why peptides carry it, and what it means for a buyer.
Read → - Research comparison
CJC-1295 vs Ipamorelin vs Sermorelin: A Research Comparison
Three peptides from growth-hormone-axis research, compared at the receptor level: which act as GHRH analogues, which acts on the ghrelin receptor, and what the literature does and does not establish.
Read → - Laboratory guide
Peptide Storage and Stability: A Laboratory Guide
Research peptides degrade if stored badly. A clear, laboratory-only guide to keeping them stable — dry versus in solution, what causes degradation, and the temperatures and timeframes that matter.
Read → - Compound overview
GHK-Cu: A Research Overview of the Copper Tripeptide
GHK-Cu is a naturally occurring copper-binding tripeptide that recurs in skin-remodelling and tissue research. An overview of its structure, the mechanisms studied, and what the literature does and does not establish.
Read → - Laboratory guide
How to Reconstitute Research Peptides: A Laboratory Guide
Reconstitution turns a freeze-dried research peptide into a solution at a known concentration. A clear, laboratory-only walkthrough of the solvent, the procedure, the concentration math, and storage.
Read → - Research comparison
Semaglutide vs Tirzepatide vs Retatrutide: A Research Comparison
Three incretin-based research peptides, compared at the receptor level: which receptors each one targets, how their research maturity differs, and what the literature does and does not establish.
Read → - Research comparison
BPC-157 vs TB-500: A Research Comparison
Two peptides that recur in the tissue-repair research literature, side by side: where they come from, how their studied mechanisms differ, and what the evidence does and does not show.
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