Custom Peptides

If you cannot find an answer in our FAQs, just contact us.
The easiest way is writing an email to peptides@mymetabion.com
We will answer your question as soon as possible.

Via email to peptides@mymetabion.com with the following information:

1. Shipping and billing address
2. Sequence (1 letter code, see FAQ "What's the IUPAC amino acid code?" ) including potential modifications (type and position)
3. Quantity you would like to order in mg
4. Desired purity in %

If you have any question, just contact peptides@mymetabion.com

If you need a linear peptide with a length between 8-25 amino acids, you can look at our price list:
There you can find the prices per amino acid (aa) for different purity grades and delivered quantities.

For any special request, which you may not find in our price list, please contact peptides@mymetabion.com. For a quote, please indicate the following:

1. Shipping and billing address
2. Sequence (1 letter code, see FAQ "What's the IUPAC amino acid code?") including potential modifications (kind and position)
3. Quantity you would like to order in mg
4. Desired purity in %

In the unlikely event that peptide synthesis and purification present complications (e.g. due to hydrophobicity of the peptide), the price might have to be calculated individually.

Purity of 95% means that, for example, 95% of the sample contains full length peptides. The remaining 5% are truncated synthesis fragments. This is due to the fact that coupling is never 100% efficient. During synthesis, truncated sequences accumulate and might interfere with the activity of the peptide. Purifying your peptide removes truncated sequences and residual toxic reagents resulting from the peptide synthesis.

This depends on the application. For immunological applications (raising antibodies), 70% purity is excellent. For peptide library binding screening, crude or 70% purity is also fine.
For cell biological studies, such as cellular activation or drug screening in cell culture, 95% purity is essential.

For structural studies (NMR, X-ray, Mass Spectrometry) or receptor / ligand studies, 95% purity is advisable.

C-terminal amidation, N-terminal acetylation, biotinylation, fluorescent labels, phosphorylation, cyclization, incorporation of D amino acids and many more. If you have read about a modified peptide in a scientific article, we would be happy if you could provide us with a a copy of the article or give us an online reference, so that we can look into the production method used. We will inform you about our assessment within 72 hours.

The reason for adding these modifications is to avoid unnatural charges at each end of the peptide, and to make the peptide more resistant to exopeptidases. We suggest to amidate the C-terminus of N-terminal peptides (i.e. peptides corresponding to the N-terminal sequence of a protein). In this way, the C-terminal amino acid of the peptide will have its COOH-group uncharged, like any internal amino acid of a polypeptide chain. Similarly, the N-terminus of C-terminal peptides (i.e. peptides corresponding to the C-terminal sequence of a protein) should be acetylated. Peptides corresponding to internal protein sequences should be modified at both ends.

We use high quality reagents and each synthesis step is strictly monitored.

Together with the peptides, you will also receive the following QC documents:

• HPLC chromatogram (for purities > 70%)
• MALDI electropherogram.

MALDI stands for Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption - Time of Flight.
This method determines the mass of molecules, as
the time of flight (way from ionizator to collector) correlates with the mass /charge ratio. The molecule is ionized, accelerated in an electric field and then collected by a detector.

Using this method, we verify whether the mass of the synthesized peptide corresponds to the theoretical mass calculated by summing the masses of each single amino acid of the peptide chain.

The delivery time depends on the sequence, length, amount and degree of purification. You can expect a delivery time of 4 weeks for standard non-modified peptides, and 5 weeks for modified peptides. We will notify any variation of the standard delivery time.

The peptides are delivered lyophilized and should be stored cool and dry. For maximal stability, we recommend storing the lyophilised peptide at –20°C. At this temperature, peptides should remain stable for several years. Peptides containing sensitive amino acids like cysteine (C), methionine (M), and tryptophane (W) should be stored lyophilized at -20°C in an inert gas environment to avoid oxidation. Refer to our stability chart below for information on peptide storing.

As a general rule peptides should be adjusted to room temperature before opening the vial. The reason is that some peptides might absorb atmospherical humidity when exposed to a "warmer environment".
The peptides are less stable in solution. Just dilute the peptide to the concentration suggested on the Certificate of Analysis (mostly 1-10mg/ml), which you obtain from us. You should use distilled, sterile water for dilution. You can re-lyophilize or freeze the aliquots.
We recommend storing solutions of peptides frozen in aliquots. Avoid repeated freeze and thaw cycles. Store the peptide in the dark, if your peptide carries a fluorescent group.

Please note:

Peptides containing W, M and C are susceptible to oxidation and should be stored under nitrogen or argon. Solutions of these peptides should be degassed and stored at –70°C. We recommend the same procedure for peptides containing Q and N, which are prone to deamination.

Just dilute the peptide to the concentration that is suggested on the synthesis report provided by us. You should use distilled, sterile water for dilution. Recommended concentrations are 1-10mg/ml. Please follow the instructions “addition of a special solvent” that we mention for certain peptides on the synthesis report. The solubility of a peptide always depends on its amino acid composition, and can be difficult, particularly if the peptides are very hydrophobic.

We recommend solubilizing a small quantity of peptide to determine optimal solubilization conditions. The first solvent of choice is deionised water. Sonication may help to dissolve the peptide. We recommend solubilising a small quantity of peptide to determine optimal solubilisation conditions.

Determination of the net charge of the compound, may be of help:
The charge of each residue of K, R, H, free N-terminal and any additional -NH2 is set at +1; each of D, E and free C-terminal is set at -1.
Basic peptides containing predominantly basic residues (R, K, H; net charge ≥ 1):
Drop by drop add glacial acetic acid (up to 20-30% in volume for problematic sequences)

Acidic peptides containing predominantly acidic residues (D, E; net charge ≤ -1):
Drop by drop add 1% ammonium hydroxide or 10% ammonium bicarbonate.

Hydrophobic (overcrowding of W, F, Y, A, L, I, V, C, M, and Q) or neutral peptides:
Stepwise addition of acetonitrile, isopropanol, DMF or DMSO (from 5 to 50%). Please note that these solvents may have a damaging effect on your experiments. For peptides with secondary structures, leading to strong tendency to aggregation, it may be necessary to add chaotropic agents such as urea or guanidium chloride.

Yes, we offer a service of multiple peptide synthesis, which can be applied to an order of at least 24 peptides. Purity options are either crude or >70%. Peptides should all fall within a range of 8-15 residues. For more information, please read the multiple peptide-synthesis section of our peptide portfolio.

Delivery time is 2-4 weeks depending on the size of the array and required purity.

It is possible to deliver the peptides in plates. However, for better storage conditions, we always recommend the delivery in single vials. Peptides can also be delivered coated onto plate wells. However, we do not provide peptides bound on paper or any other support.

For peptides and multiple-peptide synthesis, our typical turnaround time is about 4 weeks. Delivery time may vary between 4-5 weeks depending on peptide length, scale and difficulty. We will indicate the expected delivery with order confirmation. In case of any delays due to unforeseen adversities, we will inform you accordingly.

We accept any order for peptides having a maximum length of 30 amino acid residues. If a peptide sequence is not feasible, we will inform you within approx. 1 week from the order placement suggesting eventual modifications to the sequence.

It goes without saying that if the sequence cannot be synthesized, you will not pay for that specific peptide unless agreed upon otherwise.

For peptide sequences longer than 30 residues, we must check the sequence before accepting the order. The acceptance is communicated within 72 hours. Again, if we will not be able to deliver the peptide, the customer will not be requested to pay for it.

In general, synthesis failure for peptides selected from the "standard options portfolio" is less than 5%.