PEPTIDE TESTING LAB EQUIPMENT
How to start a peptide testing lab: the equipment, the costs, the setup.
Semaglutide, tirzepatide, retatrutide, BPC-157: every peptide a lab tests faces the same questions. Is it pure? Is it what the label says? How much is in the vial? Is it clean? Here is the instrument that answers each one, what it costs refurbished, and three ready-made labs to start from.
Start with the COA
What a peptide COA has to prove. And the machine that proves it.
A certificate of analysis (COA) is only as good as the tests behind it. Buyers, distributors and review sites now expect more than a purity number. These are the tests on today's peptide COAs, and what each one needs:
- Purity, by HPLC. What share of the sample is the target peptide. Needs an HPLC with a UV or PDA detector. HPLC for peptide purity testing
- Identity, by LC-MS. Proof that the main peak has the right molecular mass, so the vial holds the peptide on the label and not a look-alike. Needs an LC-MS. LC-MS for peptide identity
- Net peptide content. How many milligrams of peptide are really in the vial, measured against a reference standard on the same HPLC.
- Endotoxin. Bacterial endotoxin, in EU per mg, by a kinetic chromogenic LAL assay read on an incubating plate reader (USP <85>).
- Heavy metals. Lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury by ICP-MS (USP <232> and <233>, ICH Q3D).
- Residual solvents. Solvents left over from synthesis and purification, such as acetonitrile and DMF, by headspace GC (USP <467>).
- Sterility. A microbiology test; a biosafety cabinet keeps sample handling clean.
Each test and its instrument.
| Test | What it answers | Instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Purity | How clean is it? | HPLC with UV or PDA detector |
| Identity | Is it the peptide on the label? | LC-MS (single quad, triple quad or Q-TOF) |
| Net peptide content | How many mg are in the vial? | HPLC with a reference standard |
| Endotoxin | Is it free of bacterial endotoxin? | Incubating plate reader, kinetic LAL |
| Heavy metals | Any lead, arsenic, cadmium or mercury? | ICP-MS |
| Residual solvents | Any synthesis solvents left? | GC with headspace sampler |
| Sterility | Is it free of microbes? | Microbiology, in a biosafety cabinet |
Not sure what you need?
Three labs to start from.
Pick the one that matches the COA you want to put out. Prices come live from our in-stock listings, so they change as instruments sell, and we will adjust any package to your peptides and sample count.
Purity Lab
For a peptide brand or a new lab that needs purity and content on every lot.
Answers
- Purity, by HPLC
- Net peptide content, against a reference standard
- Identity by retention time, against a reference standard
Includes
- HPLC with UV or PDA detector, autosampler and column oven
- 6-month warranty on parts and labor
From $7,500.00
Get this lab quotedPurity + Identity Lab
For brands and testing labs that want the COA buyers trust: purity plus identity confirmed by mass.
Answers
- Purity, by HPLC
- Identity, by molecular mass
- Net peptide content
Includes
- Single-quad LC-MS with its HPLC front end
- UV or DAD detector in line for purity, if the system needs one
- 6-month warranty on parts and labor
From $39,995.00
Get this lab quotedFull QC Lab
For third-party testing labs that want to offer the full panel in-house.
Answers
- Purity, identity and content
- Endotoxin
- Heavy metals
- Residual solvents
Includes
- Single-quad LC-MS with its HPLC front end
- Incubating plate reader for kinetic LAL
- ICP-MS
- GC with headspace sampler
- Class II biosafety cabinet
Complete set from $106,740.00
Get this lab quotedPrices are for the instruments, before shipping. Reference standards, columns, LAL reagents and software licenses depend on your methods; ask us about them in your quote request.
In stock
Instruments for peptide labs, in stock now.
Every one is tested in our in-house lab before it ships, with a 6-month warranty on parts and labor.
Agilent 6120B Single Quadrupole LC-MS with 1260 Infinity HPLC and Binary Pump
Agilent
Available
Fully Tested and Refurbished
Available
$39,995.00
Agilent 6130 Quadrupole LC MS with Agilent 1200 HPLC
Agilent
Available
Fully Tested and Refurbished
Available
$48,995.00
Agilent 6160 InfinityLab LC MSD iQ Single Quad MS with 1260 HPLC
Agilent
Available
Fully Tested and Refurbished
Available
$55,000.00
Waters Alliance 2695 HPLC System with 2996 PDA Detector
Waters
Available
Fully Tested and Refurbished
Available
$8,500.00
Agilent 1100 HPLC with Diode Array Detector (DAD) and Binary Pump
Agilent
Available
Fully Tested and Refurbished
Available
$12,000.00
Agilent 1260 Infinity HPLC System with DAD
Agilent
Available
Fully Tested and Refurbished
Available
$32,000.00
Tecan Infinite M200 Pro Plate Reader
Tecan
Available
Fully Tested and Refurbished
Available
$7,000.00
Perkin Elmer NexION 350X ICP-MS with S10 Autosampler
Perkin Elmer
Available
Fully Tested and Refurbished
Available
$45,000.00
Agilent 6890N GC-FID System with G1888A Headspace Sampler
Agilent
Available
Fully Tested and Refurbished
Available
$10,995.00
Labconco Purifier Logic+ Class II Type A2 Biological Safety Cabinet
Labconco
Available
Fully Tested and Refurbished
Available
$3,750.00
Also available on request: Agilent 6530 Q-TOF LC/MS systems for accurate mass and impurity work, Waters ACQUITY QDa and SQ mass detectors, and preparative HPLC modules for purification. They are not listed yet; ask for a quote.
Outsource or own
Outside lab or your own? Run the numbers.
Outside labs charge about $200 for one HPLC purity test and about $600 for a full QC panel, per sample. A brand that tests 40 lots a month at $250 each spends about $10,000 a month, or $120,000 a year, on outside testing.
A refurbished single-quad LC-MS with its HPLC front end costs less than half of that year, and runs purity, identity and content in your own lab, with results the same day.
Owning is not free: you need a trained analyst, reference standards, columns, solvents and upkeep, and some buyers still want an independent third-party result. Many labs do both: they test every lot in-house and send a share out for independent confirmation.
Popular peptides
Different peptides, the same instruments.
Labs test semaglutide, tirzepatide, retatrutide, cagrilintide, BPC-157, TB-500, GHK-Cu, CJC-1295, ipamorelin, MOTS-c and PT-141 every day. They are different molecules, but they are tested the same way: reversed-phase HPLC on a C18 column with a water and acetonitrile gradient, UV detection at 210 to 220 nm, and mass confirmation by LC-MS.
One well set-up HPLC and one LC-MS cover the whole list. What changes from peptide to peptide is the gradient and the reference standard, not the hardware.
Go deeper.
Peptide lab questions.
For purity and net peptide content: an HPLC with a UV or PDA detector, a C18 column and a reference standard for each peptide. To confirm identity: an LC-MS. For a full panel, add an incubating plate reader for endotoxin, an ICP-MS for heavy metals and a GC with a headspace sampler for residual solvents.
For the instruments alone, a purity lab starts under $10,000 refurbished and a purity-and-identity lab with a single-quad LC-MS starts under $50,000. A full QC lab that also covers endotoxin, heavy metals and residual solvents starts at about $100,000. The packages above show live prices from our stock. Budget separately for the room, gases, reference standards, columns, solvents and a trained analyst. Our HPLC price guide and LC-MS price guide compare new, used and refurbished prices.
HPLC tells you how pure a sample is, but not what its main peak is. LC-MS confirms the molecular mass, which catches a wrong or substituted peptide. Most COAs buyers trust today show both. A single-quad LC-MS with a UV or DAD detector in its HPLC front end does both in one injection.
It means 98% of the UV signal at that wavelength comes from the main peak. It says nothing about identity or how many milligrams are in the vial, so look for an LC-MS mass result and a net content figure on the same COA.
Not to test your own product. Third-party labs that sell results usually hold ISO/IEC 17025 for the tests they offer, because their clients ask for it. Accreditation covers your methods, staff and records; the instruments need to be qualified and maintained.
Ours are tested in our in-house lab before they ship and carry a 6-month warranty on parts and labor. AMP Guard service plans add priority support, preventive maintenance and on-site service options.
No. AMP Tech sells and services analytical instruments. We do not sell peptides and we do not test samples; for testing, use a third-party lab.
Yes. We have Agilent 6530 Q-TOF systems, Waters mass detectors and preparative HPLC modules that are not listed yet, and we source synthesizers and other instruments on request. Tell us what you need in the form below.
Tell us what you need to test.
List the peptides, the tests you want on your COA and about how many samples a week. We will match the instruments and send prices within 48 hours.