Frequently asked questions
Everything we can tell you, in one place.
Ordering, testing, storage and the material itself. If the answer is not here, email us and we will add it.
Ordering and shipping
Are peptides legal to buy in Canada?
Research compounds are sold and purchased in Canada for laboratory use, and that is the basis on which we supply them. Everything we ship is labelled for research use only and is not authorised by Health Canada for human or veterinary use. Ordering means you are acquiring material for research, and how it is handled and stored in your jurisdiction is your responsibility. If you are unsure whether that fits what you are doing, ask us before you order rather than after.
Who can order?
Anyone purchasing for laboratory research use. By ordering you confirm the material is for research and not for human or veterinary use. We do not provide dosing guidance, protocols or advice on use, and we cannot answer questions about it. That is not us being unhelpful, it is the line we do not cross.
How fast is shipping in Canada?
We dispatch within two working days, and Canada Post delivery is typically a further two to four business days depending on the province. Everything ships from Ontario, so there is no border crossing and no customs delay. Your order arrives in neutral, unbranded outer packaging with nothing on it that describes the contents. Free shipping applies over $200, which most three vial orders clear.
What arrives in the box?
A sealed vial of lyophilised powder, a vial of bacteriostatic water, and plain unbranded outer packaging. The bacteriostatic water is included with every order because the material is not usable in a laboratory without it, so there is nothing else to buy.
Everything ships from one lab in Ontario.
Twenty six compounds, each with its certificate on the product page.
Testing and certificates
Are your peptides lab-tested for quality?
Every batch goes to Janoshik, an independent analytical laboratory, and is tested by HPLC for purity with mass spectrometry to confirm identity. Our release specification is 99% or higher. The certificate for the batch is published on the product page, and every Janoshik report carries a unique key you can check yourself at janoshik.com/verify. You never have to take our word for any of it. You can also see where it is made.
How do I read a certificate of analysis?
Four things matter. The compound name and batch number, which should match the vial you were sent. The purity figure and the method used to get it, usually HPLC. The date, which tells you whether the certificate belongs to the batch being sold or to an older one. And the laboratory that issued it, so you can verify the report at source rather than trusting a PDF. On every OptimaSciences product the certificate is the third image in the gallery. Always the third.
What if a product has no certificate yet?
It says so, on the product card and on the product page, with a COA pending label. That happens when a new batch is with the lab and the report has not come back. The product stays available and the label stays on it until the certificate is published, at which point it goes into the gallery like every other one. We would rather tell you a certificate is pending than let you find out after the fact.
Raw material in, finished vial out, in one Ontario lab.
Purification, verification, fill and freeze dry, all in one place.
The material
How are peptides administered for research purposes?
The material is supplied as a lyophilised powder in a sealed vial and is reconstituted with bacteriostatic water, which is included with every order, before it can be worked with. That is the whole of what we publish. We do not provide protocols, quantities or handling procedures and we cannot advise on them. How the material is used in a research setting is determined by the researcher, not by us.
How should I store my peptides?
As a lyophilised powder, cool and dry, with refrigeration for long term storage. Once reconstituted it should be refrigerated at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius and is typically stable for two to four weeks. Keep it out of direct light and avoid repeated freeze thaw cycles, which degrade peptides faster than steady cold does. Ours are held at minus 20 in the lab freezer until the day they ship, rather than sitting on a shelf.
Why do peptides gel?
Gelling is aggregation. Peptide chains associate with each other instead of staying dispersed in solution, and the result thickens or sets. It is more common with longer chains and at higher concentrations, and it is encouraged by agitation, warmth and rapid mixing. It is a physical behaviour of the molecule rather than a sign of contamination, though it does mean the material is no longer uniform.
How do you prevent or resolve gelling?
Prevention is mostly about being gentle and cold. Add the diluent slowly down the side of the vial rather than directly onto the powder, do not shake, and let it dissolve on its own. Keep it refrigerated once in solution and avoid repeated warming. A vial that has already gelled is generally not recoverable to a uniform solution, and we would rather replace it than have you work with material you cannot trust. Send us a photo if it happens.
Can multiple peptides be used together?
Research designs frequently involve more than one compound, and questions about combining them are questions about experimental design rather than about our products. We cannot advise on it. We supply single compound vials, each with its own certificate, so whatever a protocol calls for the identity and purity of each one is documented separately.
About peptides
Are peptides steroids?
No, and they are not chemically related. A peptide is a short chain of amino acids joined by peptide bonds, the same class of molecule as a very small protein. Anabolic steroids are built on a four ring carbon structure derived from cholesterol and are chemically unrelated to amino acids. The two are different classes of compound that happen to appear in the same conversations.
Are peptides natural?
Peptides occur throughout biology. Insulin is a peptide, so is oxytocin, so are many signalling molecules the body makes constantly. The ones sold as research compounds are synthesised rather than extracted, which is what makes purity a measurable property in the first place: a synthetic peptide can be characterised, and its impurities identified and quantified, in a way that extracted material cannot.
Do peptides work?
That is a question about published research rather than a question about us, and it is not one we are able to answer. We supply material for laboratory research and we do not make claims about what any compound does. What we can tell you is that these are researched compounds rather than obscure chemicals, and the published literature is public: search any compound name on PubMed and read what is actually there. Anyone selling you a confident yes to this question is telling you something about themselves.
Do peptides have side effects?
We cannot discuss effects in people. The material is not authorised by Health Canada for human or veterinary use, we do not supply it for that purpose, and answering would mean giving medical information we are not qualified or permitted to give. For laboratory handling, treat every compound as you would any uncharacterised research chemical: gloves, eye protection, no eating or drinking at the bench, and dispose of it properly. If you are looking for information about effects in people, a physician is the right person to ask and we are not.
Partners
Do you have a partner program?
Yes. Partners earn 20% of every order they send us with no cap, the people they send get 10% off, and payouts run weekly. It is built for people who already get asked where to source this material rather than for anyone with a follow count. Everything is on the partner program page, including the terms, in full, not buried in a PDF.
Get paid for advice you already give.
20% of every order, no cap. 10% off for the people you send.
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