Every time a vial is opened, punctured or taken out of the cold, the peptide is exposed to contamination, temperature changes and oxygen. If the solution is also frozen, each freeze-thaw cycle promotes aggregation.
The solution is to split the reconstituted volume into aliquots: small tubes or vials holding the amount that will be used at once. One is worked with while the rest stay closed and stored under suitable conditions.
For this to work, aliquots must be prepared with aseptic technique, in suitable containers (ideally low-binding for very dilute peptides) and labelled with the compound, the concentration and the date of preparation.
Aliquots are the simplest way to protect the stability of a peptide in solution when it will be used over days or weeks.
Related terms
Learn it in depth at the Peptide University
- Physical degradation: aggregation and adsorption · Module 11
Definition for educational and scientific purposes. It is not medical advice or a recommendation for use. NeoPeptidos products are sold labelled for research use only (RUO).