Peptide Research Glossary

503A Compounding Pharmacy

A pharmacy licensed under section 503A of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prepare compounded medications for an individual patient under a valid prescription. 503A pharmacies are state-licensed and inspected, and they operate under different rules than the research-use vendors covered on this site.

503B Outsourcing Facility

A compounding facility registered with the FDA under section 503B, permitted to produce compounded drugs in larger batches without a patient-specific prescription, subject to federal current Good Manufacturing Practice oversight. 503B status is a distinct regulatory category from both a 503A pharmacy and a research-use-only vendor.

Accession Number

A unique identifier a testing lab assigns to a specific sample or report, used to look that report up in the lab's own record system. A Certificate of Analysis with no accession number, or one a buyer cannot independently search, is harder to verify.

Amino Acid Sequence

The specific order of amino acids that make up a peptide chain, which determines the molecule's structure and identity. Two products with the same name but different sequences are not the same compound, which is why identity testing checks sequence, not purity alone.

Analog

A synthetic compound structurally related to a naturally occurring or previously studied molecule, often modified to change a specific property such as stability. Regulatory status can differ between a compound and its analogs even when the underlying research literature is similar.

Bacteriostatic Water

Sterile water containing a small amount of benzyl alcohol as a preservative, commonly referenced in peptide-research contexts as a diluent. This entry defines the term structurally; it is not guidance on preparing or administering any product.

Batch Number (Lot Number)

An identifier a manufacturer assigns to a specific production run, printed on both the product and, ideally, its Certificate of Analysis. A COA whose batch number doesn't match the vial it came with can't verify that specific vial.

BBB Rating

A letter grade the Better Business Bureau assigns to a business based on factors including complaint history and how a business responds to complaints. It reflects business-practice history, not independent testing of a vendor's products.

Certificate of Analysis (COA)

A document reporting the results of laboratory testing performed on a specific batch of a product, typically covering identity and purity. A COA is only as trustworthy as the lab that issued it and the batch-to-vial traceability behind it.

Chargeback

A reversal of a card payment initiated by the cardholder's bank, typically used when a buyer disputes a charge. Payment methods without chargeback protection, such as many cryptocurrency and peer-to-peer transfers, leave a buyer with fewer options if an order goes wrong.

Chromatogram

The graphical output of a chromatography test, showing detected compounds as peaks over time. Reviewing the underlying chromatogram, not just a summary purity percentage, is one way to assess how thorough a COA's testing actually was.

Cold Chain Shipping

A shipping and handling process that keeps a temperature-sensitive product within a defined temperature range from packaging through delivery, often using insulated packaging and ice packs. A vendor publishing cold-chain practices is describing a logistics standard, not a safety or efficacy claim.

Desiccant

A small packet included in some shipments to absorb moisture and protect a lyophilized product from humidity during transit and storage. Its presence is a packaging detail, not evidence of a product's quality or purity.

Domain Age

How long a website's domain name has been registered, checkable through public WHOIS records. A very young domain isn't proof of fraud by itself, but paired with other red flags it's one signal worth weighing.

Endotoxin Testing

A test that measures bacterial endotoxin contamination in a product, distinct from a purity or identity test. Many published peptide COAs report purity and identity but omit endotoxin results, a documentation gap worth noting rather than assuming away.

Excipient

Any ingredient in a formulated product other than the active compound itself, such as a stabilizer or buffer. Vials sold as a single compound with no listed excipients are generally simpler to verify against a COA than multi-ingredient blends.

FDA Warning Letter

A formal notice the Food and Drug Administration sends to a company after identifying violations, typically requiring a written response within a set number of business days. Warning letters are public record, searchable on FDA.gov, and one of the clearest documented signals we cite on this site.

GIP Receptor

Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor, a cell-surface target studied alongside the GLP-1 receptor in metabolic research literature. Some GLP-1-class compounds are designed to act on both receptors.

GLP-1 (Glucagon-Like Peptide-1)

A hormone and drug class studied extensively for its role in glucose regulation and appetite signaling, the basis for both FDA-approved medications and research-grade compounds sold by vendors on this site. Research-grade GLP-1-class peptides are marketed for laboratory research only, not as a substitute for a prescription medication.

GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice)

A set of quality-system standards covering how a product is manufactured, tested, and documented. A vendor's claim of GMP-compliant manufacturing is a claim about its facility's process, separate from whether a specific batch's COA is published and verifiable.

HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography)

A laboratory technique used to separate and quantify compounds in a sample, the most common method cited on peptide Certificates of Analysis for purity testing. HPLC measures purity; a separate technique such as mass spectrometry is typically needed to confirm identity.

Identity Testing

Laboratory analysis confirming a sample actually contains the specific compound it's labeled as, rather than a structurally similar or entirely different substance. A COA showing only a purity percentage, with no identity confirmation, hasn't verified what the product actually is.

In-House Testing

Laboratory testing performed by the vendor itself rather than by an independent third-party lab. In-house results aren't inherently false, but they carry less independent corroboration than a report from a named, separately operating lab.

KYC (Know Your Customer)

An identity-verification step some payment processors or platforms require before completing a transaction, common with certain cryptocurrency and alternative payment rails. A vendor requiring KYC for a specific payment method is following that processor's policy, not necessarily a choice the vendor made itself.

Lyophilized

Freeze-dried into a stable powder or cake form, a common state for peptides sold for research use because it extends shelf stability compared to a liquid solution. This entry defines the term only; it is not preparation or administration guidance.

Mass Spectrometry (MS)

A laboratory technique that measures the mass-to-charge ratio of ionized molecules, commonly used to confirm a sample's molecular identity. Pairing mass spectrometry with HPLC purity testing is generally considered more complete verification than either technique alone.

Molecular Weight

The mass of one molecule of a compound, typically listed on a Certificate of Analysis as part of confirming a sample matches its labeled identity. A reported molecular weight that doesn't match the expected value for the labeled compound is a documentation discrepancy worth investigating.

NCAA Banned Substances List

A list of substances and methods the NCAA prohibits for student-athletes, published and updated by the NCAA itself. Some peptides sold for research use appear on this list; checking a compound's current status directly on the NCAA's own published list is more reliable than relying on a vendor's characterization of it.

Normalized Pricing

Converting listed prices to a common unit, such as cost per 10mg, so products sold in different package sizes can be compared on equal terms. This site normalizes pricing this way specifically because raw per-vial prices aren't comparable across vendors selling different quantities.

Peptide

A short chain of amino acids linked together, smaller than a full protein. The vendors and compounds covered on this site sell peptides marketed for laboratory research use.

Price Per Mg

The cost of a product divided by the milligrams it contains, a simpler alternative to full cost-to-10mg normalization for comparing package sizes from the same vendor. It doesn't account for potency or purity differences between products.

Purity Percentage

The proportion of a tested sample confirmed to be the intended compound rather than impurities, typically measured by HPLC. Purity alone doesn't confirm identity; a highly pure sample of the wrong compound is still not what it's labeled as.

Reconstitution

The process of dissolving a lyophilized, freeze-dried product into a liquid form using a diluent. This entry defines the term structurally; it is not instructions for reconstituting or administering any product.

Research Use Only (RUO)

A labeling designation stating that a product is intended for laboratory research and not for human or veterinary use. RUO labeling is a legal and marketing designation, not independent confirmation of a product's actual use, which is why regulators sometimes look past the label to a vendor's broader marketing.

Stack

A combination of two or more compounds sold together as a single product, marketed as a blend rather than a single-ingredient vial. Blends are generally harder to price-compare across vendors than single compounds, since exact ratios and total mass can differ.

Sterility Testing

Laboratory testing confirming a sample is free of viable microbial contamination. It's a distinct test from purity or identity testing, and many published peptide COAs don't include it.

Task Number

An identifier some labs, including Janoshik Analytical, assign to a specific testing job, used together with a verification key to look up the original report on the lab's own site. It serves the same purpose an accession number serves at labs that use different terminology.

Telehealth

Clinical care delivered remotely through a licensed provider, typically involving a consultation and dispensing through a licensed pharmacy. Telehealth programs operate under a materially different regulatory framework than research-use vendors, since they involve a prescription and a licensed pharmacy rather than a research-labeled product.

Third-Party Testing

Laboratory testing performed by a lab that is operationally independent of the vendor selling the product. That independence is what allows a buyer, in principle, to verify a result directly with the lab rather than relying solely on the vendor's own claim.

Trustpilot Score

A star rating and review aggregate from the review platform Trustpilot, reflecting self-selected customer feedback rather than laboratory or regulatory data. It's one input worth weighing alongside documented, source-linked signals, not a substitute for them.

USP (United States Pharmacopeia)

A nonprofit organization that publishes quality and testing standards referenced across the pharmaceutical industry. A vendor citing USP-grade materials or standards is referencing this organization's published specifications, not an FDA approval.

Vial

A small glass or plastic container used to package a peptide product, typically sealed with a rubber stopper. Vial size and fill volume are two of the details worth checking against a product's Certificate of Analysis.

WADA Prohibited List

The World Anti-Doping Agency's annually published list of substances and methods prohibited in sport. As with the NCAA list, checking a compound's current status directly against WADA's own published list is more reliable than a vendor's characterization of it.