The Lab Notes.
Questions worth asking. Research worth reading.
What Are Peptides? A Beginner’s Guide to the Basics
From amino acid bonds to the work peptides do in living things—and why laboratory testing matters.
Amino Acids: The Building Blocks of Peptides Explained
Amino acids are the building blocks of peptides. Learn their structure, the 20 standard amino acids and their codes, essential amino acids, and peptide bonds.
Peptides vs. Proteins: What's the Real Difference?
Peptides vs proteins explained: same building blocks, but different size, structure, stability, and manufacture. Plus why regulators define them differently.
Peptide Terminology Glossary: 60+ Key Terms Explained
A plain-English peptide terminology glossary: 60+ terms from amino acids and peptide bonds to HPLC, mass spec, purity, assay, counter-ions, and COAs.
How Peptides Work in the Body: Receptors and Signals
How peptides work in the body: a plain-English guide to receptors, signaling, peptide hormones like GLP-1, antimicrobial peptides, and why effects are brief.
Peptide Half-Life Explained: What It Means and Why It Varies
Peptide half-life explained: what elimination half-life means, why natural peptides clear in minutes, how it is extended, and how it differs from shelf life.
How to Judge Peptide Research: Evidence Quality Explained
How to judge peptide research: the hierarchy of evidence, why animal and cell studies often fail to translate to humans, and a checklist for reading a study.
What Is a Certificate of Analysis (COA)? A Clear Guide
What is a certificate of analysis (COA)? Learn what a COA should contain, the tests on a peptide COA, warning signs of a weak one, and what it can't tell you.
HPLC Testing Explained: How Peptide Purity Is Measured
HPLC testing explained for beginners: how reversed-phase HPLC separates peptides, how to read a chromatogram, what purity % means, and HPLC's key limitations.
Mass Spectrometry for Peptides: A Beginner's Guide
Mass spectrometry for peptides explained: how ESI and MALDI work, what m/z means, how MS confirms peptide identity and sequence, and its limits.
Identity vs. Purity vs. Quantity Testing for Peptides
Identity vs. purity vs. quantity testing: three different questions about a peptide sample. Learn what each shows, the methods used, and why all three matter.
Endotoxin and Sterility Testing Explained for Peptides
Endotoxin testing and sterility testing explained simply: what each test detects, how LAL and recombinant methods work, and why a pure peptide can still fail.
How to Read a Peptide Lab Report: A Beginner's Guide
Learn how to read a peptide lab report step by step: sample details, identity by mass spec, HPLC purity, peptide content, specifications, and red flags.
What Is Lyophilization? Freeze-Drying Peptides Explained
What is lyophilization? A plain-English guide to freeze-drying peptides: the three stages, why it improves stability, and what it cannot protect against.
Peptide Storage: Temperature, Light and Moisture Explained
Peptide storage explained: how temperature, light, moisture and oxygen affect peptide stability, and how regulators and labs decide on storage conditions.
How Peptides Degrade: Oxidation, Deamidation and More
Learn how peptide degradation happens: oxidation, deamidation, hydrolysis, aggregation and other pathways, what speeds them up, and how labs detect them.
Research-Grade vs. Pharmaceutical-Grade: What It Means
Research grade vs pharmaceutical grade explained: what GMP, pharmacopoeias and regulatory review add, and why a 'research use' label is not a quality standard.
8 Common Peptide Quality Misconceptions, Explained
Eight common peptide quality misconceptions, from '99% pure means 99% peptide' to 'freeze-dried lasts forever', explained with regulatory and research evidence.
What 'Approved' Really Means: Drug Approval by Country
What does drug approval mean? How the FDA, EMA, MHRA, TGA and Health Canada authorise medicines, and why 'approved' is specific to product, use and country.
Clinical Trial Phases & Investigational Compounds Explained
Clinical trial phases explained: what an investigational compound is, what Phase 1, 2, 3 and 4 trials test, and how the US, EU and UK regulate trials.