Notes from the bench.

It is the most common message a peptide supplier receives, and it almost always says the same thing: the vial looks empty. Sometimes there is a thin film. Sometimes a small disc has come loose and is rattling. Sometimes genuinely nothing is vi

Every reconstitution guide says do not shake the vial. Very few say why, and a rule without a reason is a rule people break when they are in a hurry. Here is the mechanism. Peptides collect at surfaces Most peptides have both hydrophilic a

“Store cold, keep it dry, keep it dark” is good advice and a poor explanation. Peptides do not degrade generically; they degrade by specific chemical routes, and which routes are open depends on which residues are in the sequence.