Lab reports (COA)

A certificate of analysis (COA) is the only way to know what is actually in a vial. This page explains how to read one, and it is honest about where we stand on publishing them.

Where we stand right now

We are building our batch-testing programme. We do not yet have certificates published for the stock we hold. We would rather tell you that plainly than hand you a document that does not describe your vial.

Want the analytical documentation for a specific product before you order? Email [email protected]. We will tell you exactly what we have for that batch, including if the answer is nothing yet. As reports come in, we publish them at pepsup.eu/coa.

What a certificate of analysis is

A COA is a laboratory's report on one specific batch of material. It states which compound was tested, which batch it came from, which methods were used, and what the results were. Two methods matter most:

• HPLC separates everything in the sample and measures how much of it is the target compound. This gives you a purity figure: how pure.
• Mass spectrometry measures molecular weight and confirms the material matches the expected sequence. This gives you identity: what it actually is.

You want both. HPLC alone can show a sample is 99% one substance without telling you that substance is the peptide you ordered.

How to read one

• Batch number. It must match the number printed on your vial. A report whose batch number does not match yours describes someone else's material. This is the single most useful check, and the one most often skipped.
• The chromatogram. A real trace has a slightly noisy baseline, one dominant peak, and usually a few small ones. A perfectly smooth line with a single flawless peak is a drawing.
• Internal consistency. If the report claims 99%, the visible impurity peaks should plausibly account for the remaining 1%.
• The laboratory. A genuine report names the lab that issued it, with a date and a method reference. Search the name: a real analytical laboratory has an address and a way to contact it.

Why this matters in this market

Independent testing costs real money per batch, and a certificate is easy to copy. The common shortcut is to test one batch, get a genuine report, and then publish that same report alongside every batch that follows. Every word on the document is true, and it tells you nothing about the vial in your hand. Checking the batch number is what makes that shortcut visible.

What a certificate does not tell you

A COA describes the material in the tested sample: which compound, and how pure. It is not a statement that the material is safe, effective or suitable for any purpose. Everything we sell is supplied for laboratory research use only. See our research-use-only terms.

Last updated 7 August 2026.