Peptides, proteins and amino acids
Amino acids are the individual units. Link a handful together with peptide bonds and you have a peptide; link dozens or hundreds and the chain folds into a three-dimensional shape and is called a protein.
The boundary is a convention rather than a hard rule — around 50 amino acids is the usual dividing line. What matters practically is that short chains are small enough to synthesise reliably, purify to a high standard, and characterise precisely.
Because the sequence determines the molecule, two vials labelled with the same peptide name should be chemically identical. Whether they actually are is what analytical testing establishes.
How research peptides are made
Most are produced by solid-phase peptide synthesis: the chain is built one amino acid at a time on a solid resin support, then cleaved off and purified.
Synthesis is never perfect. Incomplete couplings leave truncated chains, and side reactions leave modified ones. Purification — usually preparative HPLC — separates the target peptide from those by-products.
What "HPLC ≥99%" actually tells you
High-performance liquid chromatography pushes the sample through a column that separates compounds by how strongly they stick to it. Each compound emerges at its own time and registers as a peak.
Purity is reported as the target peak's area as a percentage of all peak area. "≥99%" means at least 99% of what the detector saw was the intended peptide.
HPLC tells you how pure, not what it is. Identity is confirmed by mass spectrometry, which measures the molecular weight and checks it against the expected sequence. A credible Certificate of Analysis carries both, and it carries a lot number that matches the vial in your hand.
A CoA with no lot number, no date and no lab name is decoration. That is the single most useful thing to check when comparing suppliers.
Peptides are not SARMs, steroids or supplements
SARMs are small synthetic molecules that bind androgen receptors — a completely different chemical class, despite often being sold alongside peptides.
Anabolic steroids are steroid-ring molecules, also unrelated structurally.
Cosmetic "peptide" serums contain peptides too, but at trivial concentrations and formulated for topical use. Research-grade lyophilised material is a different product for a different purpose.
What to check before buying in Australia
A batch report from an independent laboratory, where one has been published for the lot — not just an in-house claim of purity.
Storage & handling in the lab
Aussie Peptides does not publish product- or lot-specific preparation, storage or stability data. Base preparation, storage and disposal on the supplier safety data sheet (SDS) and your institution's standard operating procedures.
Where a vial label shows a lot number and a batch report has been published for that lot, it can be looked up on the verify page and recorded alongside your experimental data.
Legal status in Australia
Materials on this site are supplied strictly for in-vitro laboratory research. They are not offered for human or veterinary use. A research-use label does not by itself determine regulatory status; see the compliance page for official TGA guidance.
Purchasers must be 18 or over and are responsible for handling, storing and disposing of research materials in line with their institution's requirements and applicable Australian law.
Nothing on this page is medical advice, a dosing protocol, or a claim of therapeutic benefit. It summarises what the published research literature investigates.
Common questions
A short chain of amino acids — the same building blocks proteins are made from, joined in a sequence of roughly 2 to 50 units instead of hundreds.
Chain length, and therefore structure. Peptides are short and relatively simple; proteins are long chains that fold into complex three-dimensional shapes. The dividing line is conventionally around 50 amino acids.
No. Peptides are amino-acid chains. SARMs are small synthetic molecules that act on androgen receptors — a different chemical class entirely, even though some suppliers list them side by side.
In a chromatographic separation of the batch, at least 99% of the total detected peak area was the target peptide. It measures purity, not identity — mass spectrometry confirms the molecule is the right one.
Aussie Peptides does not publish product- or lot-specific storage, stability or preparation data. Follow the supplier safety data sheet (SDS) and your institution's standard operating procedures.
Peptides checklist & safety notes.
A one-page laboratory checklist for Peptides: lot record-keeping, packaging inspection on arrival, and how to read a batch report where one is published. Handling and storage follow the supplier SDS and your institution's SOPs. Research use only — no human dosing protocols.
One email, no list sharing. 18+ research use only.
