Custom Peptide Synthesis
Custom peptides may be synthesized manually or with automated peptide synthesizers. For preparing peptides with short sequences, peptide synthesis companies may utilize manual methods. This allows greater flexibility in developing peptide synthesis protocols and easier troubleshooting if unexpected problems occur. However, the risk of human errors, such as switching the order of amino acids which ruins the peptide synthesis, is great. For longer sequences, automated peptide synthesizers afford less opportunity for error, provide documentation of the synthesis, and provide the advantage of unattended operation.
Custom peptide synthesis companies typically offer to include modifications of standard peptide structures, including phosphorylation, methylation, labeling with tags or dyes, cyclization, conjugation with PEG, and incorporation of D-amino acids and other unusual amino acids. These modifications are usually charged as additional expenses to the peptide synthesis.
Most companies offering custom peptide synthesis services provide custom peptides in several purity levels, with charges increasing with the level of purity requested. Typical purity levels are:
1. Immunological Grade (suitable for forming polyclonal antibodies)
2. 80% or greater (tissue culture; ligand for affinity purification; non-quantitative antibody blocking experiments)
3. 90% or greater (in vivo studies; bioassays; markers for electrophoresis; monoclonal antibodies)
4. 95% or greater (ELISA; RIA; enzyme substrate)
5. 98% (NMR; chromatography standards)
In selecting a custom peptide synthesis company, factors to consider in addition to cost are accuracy, success rate and speed of delivery.
Our peptides are available in all scales, from milligram research scale to multi-kilogram production scale. We provide single custom peptides, multiple peptides and custom peptide libraries in a timely manner.
