Research Protocols

Reconstitution

1. Bring the vial to room temperature before opening.
2. Sanitise both the peptide vial stopper and the diluent stopper with an alcohol wipe.
3. Draw the calculated volume of bacteriostatic water into a sterile syringe.
4. Angle the needle so the stream runs down the inner wall of the vial. Do not inject directly onto the powder.
5. Let the vial stand until the powder dissolves. Swirl gently if needed.

Never shake

Vortexing or vigorous shaking denatures the peptide by exposing it to shear forces and an air-liquid interface. Gentle inversion is always sufficient.

Calculating concentration

Concentration equals peptide mass divided by diluent volume. A 5mg vial reconstituted with 2mL of bacteriostatic water gives 2.5mg/mL. Recalculate for every new lot rather than assuming vial contents are identical.

Working aliquots

Prepare single-use aliquots immediately after reconstitution. Label each with the compound, concentration, lot number, and date. Undated aliquots are the most common source of protocol error.

Documentation

Record lot number, reconstitution date, diluent type and volume, storage temperature, and the calculated concentration for every vial. Reproducibility depends on this record more than on any other single factor.

Disposal

Dispose of unused material and sharps according to your institution's biohazard and sharps protocols.