Cold
-20 °C or colder for long-term storage. For a few weeks, 2 to 8 °C is fine. Avoid repeated freeze and thaw of the same vial.
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Storage guide · lyophilised material
Storing lyophilised material.
Sealed, freeze-dried peptides are stable. Four conditions keep them that way: cold, dark, dry and sealed.
Long-term-20 °C or colder
MoistureKeep the vial sealed and dry
LightIn the box, out of direct light
01The four conditions
Cold, dark, dry, sealed.
A dry, sealed cake changes very slowly. Each of these slows it further.
Dark
Keep vials in their box. Some residues, tryptophan in particular, degrade under light.
Dry
Moisture is the main driver of degradation in a dry cake. Let a cold vial reach room temperature before you open its box, so condensation does not form on it.
Sealed
The crimp seal keeps out air and moisture. Leave it intact until the vial is needed, and check it on arrival.
02Temperature
Where a vial should be, and for how long.
- Ambient15 to 25 °C
In transit. Lyophilised material is stable for the few days it spends shipping, so no ice packs are needed.
- 2 to 8 °CRefrigerator
Short-term, a few weeks. Keep the vial upright, in its box.
- -20 °CFreezer
Long-term storage for sealed vials. The standard condition for a dry cake.
- -80 °CDeep freeze
Archival. Optional, for material kept well beyond a year.
03Sensitivity
Some sequences need more care.
Read from each compound's own sequence. Methionine, cysteine and tryptophan oxidise; asparagine and glutamine can deamidate when moisture gets in.
Oxidation-prone residues
Met, Cys, Trp. Keep sealed and cold; minimise air exposure.
Moisture-sensitive residues
Asn, Gln. Keep dry; warm the box before opening.
04At a glance
Do, and avoid.
Do
- Move vials to the freezer when they arrive
- Keep them in the box, upright
- Let a cold box reach room temperature before opening it
- Keep the crimp seal intact until the vial is needed
- Label the box with the lot number and the date it arrived
- Check the certificate's moisture result for the lot
!Avoid
- !Repeated freeze and thawEach cycle can draw in moisture. Store the vial once and leave it.
- !Light and heatA window sill, a car or a warm shelf speeds degradation.
- !Frost-free freezersTheir defrost cycles warm the contents. A manual-defrost freezer holds temperature better.
- !Broken or loose sealsReport a damaged crimp within 7 days and we will replace the vial.
05On arrival
Two checks before storage.
The seal and the cake
The crimp should be intact and the cap seated flat. The material should be a dry cake or powder. The full arrival checklist is in shipping and returns.
The certificate
Scan the QR on the label. The record shows the lot's moisture by Karl Fischer against its limit of 8.0%, and every other release test. Verify a lot.
Smart Amino does not provide guidance on preparing or using these materials. They are sold for in-vitro research by qualified professionals only.
