Storing Lyophilised Peptides: Temperature, Light and Moisture
Follow the material’s product-specific storage instructions and protect it from moisture and light where required. Temperature, duration and solution stability depend on the sequence, formulation and conditions. Generic freezer or refrigerator guidance does not establish shelf life.
Follow the material’s product-specific storage instructions. Stability depends on the sequence, formulation, packaging and conditions; generic freezer or refrigerator guidance does not establish shelf life.
Why lyophilised
Freeze-drying (lyophilisation) removes water from a peptide under vacuum, leaving a dry powder or cake. Removing water can improve stability, but dry material can still undergo oxidation or other changes. Appropriate storage depends on the sequence, formulation and validated stability data.
General manufacturer guidance
- Long-term: General manufacturer guidance often recommends freezing sealed dry material; the appropriate temperature and duration require product-specific instructions and stability data.
- Short-term: Refrigeration is suitable for some materials. Follow the specific instructions; a temperature range alone does not establish a storage duration.
- Light: keep vials in their carton or an opaque container. Tryptophan, tyrosine and other aromatic residues are light-sensitive.
- Moisture: store sealed, ideally with a desiccant. Lyophilised peptides are hygroscopic and will draw water from the air.
Many sealed lyophilised peptides tolerate short ambient transit, with exceptions. Follow the product-specific storage and shipping instructions.
Opening a vial
Let a cold vial reach room temperature before opening it. Opening a cold vial draws condensation onto the powder, introducing the very moisture storage is designed to exclude. Reseal promptly and return the vial to cold storage.
Sequences that need extra care
- Methionine, cysteine and tryptophan oxidise readily. Minimise air exposure; some labs flush vials with nitrogen or argon.
- Asparagine and glutamine are prone to deamidation, particularly in solution.
- N-terminal glutamine can cyclise to pyroglutamate over time.
Peptides in solution
Solution stability depends on the peptide and solvent; it may be lower than dry-material stability. Select and validate solvent, concentration, temperature, aliquoting and freeze–thaw limits for the specific formulation. There is no universal solution-storage temperature or shelf life. Use clean, appropriate buffers and label every aliquot with compound, concentration, batch number and date.
Keep the record
Record the batch number printed on each Aurelia vial against your experiments. It links your results to the batch’s Certificate of Analysis and makes your work reproducible.
For research use only. Not for human or veterinary use.
Sources and further reading
Evidence and limitations
Stability depends on sequence, formulation, packaging, temperature and time. Dry material can still undergo oxidation or other changes. Follow product-specific storage instructions and validated stability data; generic freezer guidance does not establish shelf life or the condition of an individual vial.
- Bachem: handling and storage guidelines for peptides, source 1
General manufacturer guidance. It does not establish Aurelia product-specific shelf life or transit stability.