Record keeping for research peptide purchases
What to record at purchase and at use, why it matters for reproducibility and audit, and a simple system keyed on batch numbers.
Good records turn a research peptide from an anonymous vial into a traceable reagent, and they take a few minutes per order to keep. They also answer, months later, the questions that otherwise cannot be answered: which batch produced that result, whether the material was in date, and where the certificate is. This note sets out what a laboratory should record for research peptide purchases and use, why, and how Alphex's batch numbering and certificates support it. All Alphex products are for laboratory and in-vitro research only.
Why keep records
- Reproducibility. If an experiment behaves differently in month six, the first question is whether the peptide changed. Batch records answer it.
- Institutional requirements. Chemical inventories, COSHH assessments and good laboratory practice all expect reagent provenance.
- Publication. Methods sections increasingly ask for supplier, catalogue number, batch and purity for key reagents.
- Supplier accountability. A replacement or refund under a purity guarantee depends on identifying the batch. See the purity guarantee.
- Compliance. Demonstrating that material was bought and used for laboratory research is straightforward if the records exist and awkward if they do not.
What to record at purchase
- Supplier, order number, date, invoice (with VAT number).
- Compound, size, quantity, price.
- Batch number of each vial received (from the label).
- The Certificate of Analysis for that batch, filed by batch number: purity, identity, test date, laboratory, report reference.
- Condition on receipt: seal intact, appearance normal, date received, storage location.
- Project or grant the purchase is charged to.
What to record at use
- Date of reconstitution, diluent, volume, nominal concentration, any net-content correction applied.
- Aliquot count and storage location; date each aliquot is thawed and used.
- The batch number carried onto every aliquot label and every lab-book entry that uses it. See aliquoting.
- Discard date and reason. See recognising degradation.
A simple system
One spreadsheet or inventory entry per vial, keyed by batch number, with a folder of COAs named by batch number. That is enough for most laboratories. Institutions with electronic lab notebooks or LIMS can attach the COA to the reagent record. The discipline that matters is writing the batch number down every time the material is touched.
How Alphex supports it
- Every vial label carries the batch number; every COA is issued against it. See why batch matching matters and the Alphex batch numbering system.
- The COA is available before purchase and is sent with the order; we can re-send any certificate by batch number on request.
- Invoices carry company and VAT registration for institutional records.
- We keep our own records of which batch shipped in which order, so a batch number can always be traced back if a label is lost.
Frequently asked questions
How long should records be kept?
At least as long as the data they support may be published or audited; many institutions specify five to ten years.
Do I need to record disposal?
Institutional waste rules usually require it; see disposal.
Can Alphex confirm a batch number to an auditor?
Yes: contact us with the batch number and order reference.
Sources and further reading
Alphex research peptides are supplied for laboratory and in-vitro research by qualified researchers only. They are not authorised for human or veterinary use.
Research use only. Alphex products are supplied exclusively for laboratory and in-vitro research by qualified researchers. They are not authorised for human or veterinary use, and nothing in this note is advice on any such use.
Published 8 June 2026, last reviewed 16 August 2026. Alphex reviews research notes when the testing method, the catalogue or UK guidance changes.