Peptide storage guide for the research laboratory
How to store lyophilised and reconstituted research peptides as reagents — temperature, light, aliquoting and freeze-thaw considerations.
Research peptides are reagents, and like any reagent their measured properties depend on how they are stored. This guide covers storing lyophilised and reconstituted reference peptides in the laboratory — temperature, light, moisture and freeze–thaw considerations — to keep a standard usable and replicable across a study.
Lyophilised storage
As a dry lyophilate, most reference peptides are stable for extended periods when kept cold and dry:
- Store at −20 °C for routine use, or −80 °C for long-term reference stock.
- Keep vials desiccated; warm to room temperature before opening to avoid condensation drawing moisture onto the cake.
- Protect from light for photosensitive sequences.
Reconstituted storage
Once in solution, the clock starts. Hold reconstituted material at 2–8 °C for short working windows and at −80 °C for anything longer, always as single-use aliquots.
- Label each aliquot with peptide, lot, concentration and date.
- Re-verify purity by HPLC if a working stock approaches the end of its window.
Aliquoting and freeze-thaw
Repeated freeze–thaw cycling is a leading cause of measurable purity drift. Aliquot once, immediately after reconstitution, into single-use volumes so that each analytical run thaws a fresh aliquot rather than cycling a shared stock.
A practical rule: budget the number of freeze–thaw cycles a stock will see before you make it, and size your aliquots to that budget.
Research use only. All products and content are intended strictly for in-vitro laboratory research and analytical use. Not for human or veterinary use, not for consumption, and not for any diagnostic or therapeutic purpose.