Free 2-Day Shipping on Orders Over $200

Transparency

How to read a Certificate of Analysis

Every Vivo batch ships with a Certificate of Analysis: the independent test data behind the vial. This guide decodes each figure and explains why it matters for reproducible research.

Browse live certificates

Illustrative sample — not a live lot

VivoAnalytical

Sample certificate

Lot VV-SAMPLE-2406

Sample compound

Reference example · 5 mg · lyophilised · Research Use Only

Purity, HPLC

≥ 99.4%

Retention time

6.2 min

Lot

VV-SAMPLE-2406

Example RP-HPLC traceIllustrative

Illustrative trace, not instrument data. A real chromatogram is in each lot's laboratory PDF.

Parameter	Method	Result
Purity	RP-HPLC	99.4%
Retention time	RP-HPLC	6.2 min
Residual TFA	RP-HPLC	0.3%

Illustrative sample for the reading guide. Figures are placeholders, not measurements of any Vivo lot.

For Research Use Only. Not for human or animal consumption.

The methods

The instruments and techniques behind every figure on the certificate.

RP-HPLCPurity

Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography pushes the dissolved sample through a column so its parts separate by how strongly each holds to the packing.

Reads: purity, residual TFA, and the shape of the trace.

LC-MS (ESI)Identity

Liquid chromatography feeds the separated sample into a mass spectrometer, which weighs each molecule with high precision.

Reads: identity, by matching measured mass to the expected mass.

ICP-MSMetals

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry ionises the sample in a super-hot plasma and counts metal atoms down to parts per million.

Reads: trace heavy-metal contamination.

Karl Fischer titrationWater

A chemical titration that reacts specifically with water, measuring moisture accurately even in trace amounts.

Reads: residual water held in the powder.

Visual inspectionAppearance

A trained check of colour and physical form before any instrument is run.

Reads: gross defects such as discolouration or clumping.

The measurements

What each result on the table certifies, and why it matters for research.

Purity≥ 99%

The share of the sample that is the target peptide, measured as its percentage of the total peak area.

Why it matters: the higher the purity, the fewer stray compounds there are to confound an experiment, so results are cleaner and more reproducible.

Identity / massConfirmed

A measurement of the molecule’s exact mass, checked against the theoretical mass of the intended sequence.

Why it matters: confirms the vial holds the precise peptide named on the label, not a wrong or mislabelled sequence.

TFA content≤ 1%

Residual trifluoroacetic acid, a counter-ion left behind by peptide synthesis and purification.

Why it matters: TFA can interfere with sensitive cell and binding assays, so it is held to a strict ceiling.

Water content≤ 8%

The residual moisture held in the lyophilised (freeze-dried) powder.

Why it matters: water adds to the vial’s weight, so measuring it lets researchers calculate the true amount of compound and its concentration.

Heavy metals≤ 10 ppm

Trace metallic contaminants such as lead or arsenic, reported in parts per million.

Why it matters: metal traces can degrade a compound or distort assay readouts, so they are screened to a low limit.

AppearanceVisual

The physical form and colour, expected to be a white to off-white powder.

Why it matters: a first-line check; discolouration or clumping can flag degradation or moisture before any instrument is run.

Reading the chromatogram

The trace is a simple picture of purity. Time runs left to right; detector signal runs bottom to top.

Retention timex-axis

The horizontal position, in minutes, where a compound leaves the column. The target peptide’s retention is marked on the trace.

Why it matters: a consistent retention time from batch to batch is a fingerprint that the same compound was prepared the same way.

Signal (mAU)y-axis

Height is the detector’s response in milli-absorbance units at 214 nm, the wavelength peptide bonds absorb.

Why it matters: a taller peak means more of that compound passed the detector at that moment.

Main peakTarget

The single tall peak is the target peptide. A clean, well-resolved, dominant peak is the signature of a pure compound.

Why it matters: the clearer the main peak stands alone, the more confident the identity and purity.

Area %Purity

Purity is the main peak’s area as a percentage of every peak combined, not simply its height.

Why it matters: using area captures how much total material is the target versus everything else.

Key terms

Lyophilised

Freeze-dried to a stable powder, so the compound keeps for long-term storage and is reconstituted only when a protocol calls for it.

Lot / batch

One production run with one set of test results. Every certificate belongs to a single lot, so its figures describe the exact vial you receive.

Research grade

Prepared and documented for laboratory research use, with purity and identity independently verified and recorded.

Specification vs result

The specification is the limit a batch must meet; the result is what this lot actually measured. Results meet or beat the specification.