Questions we get asked, answered plainly

Panels and pricing

What each panel covers, what it costs, and which one you actually need.

How much does peptide testing cost at Axiom?

Axiom 4X Essential is published at $195 per sample and Axiom 8X Comprehensive at $595; paid samples earn automatic panel discounts (5–9 samples: 10%, 10–14 samples: 15%, 15–19 samples: 20%, 20–24 samples: 25%, 25+ samples: 30%). Paid 4X/8X intake is open, with required Rapid DNA at Layer 4 and a conservative accession reservation. Unresolved Rapid platform, peptide-matrix, control, criterion, or material evidence is surfaced to our staff for resolution and does not block intake, entry, signing, or release. It is never represented as sterility, CFU, or a completed-panel PASS. USP <71> is a separate $175 culture module with a 14-day minimum and dedicated sealed-container requirements. Extra same-lot vials for cross-vial consistency start at $95 and step down per analytical repeat (the second is $85, the third $75, down to a $50 floor). Bacterial endotoxin under USP 85 is a $50 module on the 4X panel, and CHNS net peptide content is $145.

What is the difference between the 4X and 8X panels?

Both panel definitions require Molecular Mass Fingerprinting, Homogeneity Profiling, Net Peptide Mass Quantitation, Rapid Microbial DNA Screen. Rapid Microbial DNA Screen is a research target-DNA screen, not USP <71>. The 8X configuration adds Bacterial Endotoxin, Elemental Catalytic Sweep, Post-Reconstitution Stability, Fentanyl & Analog Screen. Paid 4X/8X intake is open under controlled accession. If required Rapid evidence is unresolved, it is surfaced to our staff for resolution rather than producing a completed-panel PASS; intake, entry, signing, and release are not blocked.

Do I need the 8X panel?

Usually not, and we would rather say so. 4X covers identity, chromatographic purity, net content, and the required Rapid DNA question. 8X adds endotoxin, elemental data, stability, and fentanyl/analog screening. Both may be ordered and accessioned under operational scope. Rapid DNA is not USP <71>. Unresolved method, control, suitability, criterion, or material findings are surfaced to our staff for resolution and do not block intake, entry, signing, or release; they never become a completed-panel PASS. 8X is optional depth, not a blanket safety requirement.

Is a more expensive panel a more accurate test?

No. Price tracks how many questions get answered, not how carefully any one of them is answered. The identity determination on a 4X certificate is the same LC-MS/MS determination, run the same way, as the one on an 8X certificate.

How many vials do I need to send?

For controlled accession, a Rapid-only 4X/8X declaration currently reserves one sealed analytical container. That reservation is not a promise that every destructive preparation will fit: the laboratory may request supplemental material until a signed combined ledger proves the Rapid aliquot and every analytical draw, loss, repeat, control allowance, and reserve fit the exact presentation. A conservative USP <71> submitted-container accession uses two dedicated culture containers, one for FTM and one for SCDM, plus one reserved analytical/Rapid container, for three total. Service-required microbial containers are not conformity repeats. Optional same-lot consistency vials start at $95 and are analysed separately against a 5% default CV limit.

Can you test a blend with more than one active?

Yes, and the certificate resolves each declared component separately. Identity passes only if every declared component has a real theoretical mass and a real observed mass within tolerance. A blend that confirms on one component has not been identified, and our release gate refuses to sign one that did.

Do you test bacteriostatic water or reconstitution solvents?

Paid Axiom DX Diluent & Solvent intake is open for an exact declared article at $195. It routes pH under USP <791>, including the required 0.3 mL saturated-KCl preparation per 100 mL. Benzyl-alcohol content routes under USP <341> with its NMT 120% of-label ceiling and locked GC suitability. Finished Bacteriostatic Water for Injection routes to USP <71>, not USP <61> enumeration or process bioburden. Unresolved product-specific lower limits, method profiles, suitability, controls, criteria, or material evidence is surfaced to our staff for resolution without closing intake, entry, signing, or release. We do not claim full Bacteriostatic Water for Injection monograph compliance.

Vials, sterility and lot-level answers

Which answers need one vial, which need several, and what a sterility result does and does not claim.

Can the whole 4X or 8X panel be run on a single vial?

Not as an execution promise. Controlled Rapid-only accession reserves one sealed analytical container, but the laboratory may request supplemental material until a signed ledger proves every destructive preparation fits and the molecular platform is qualified. A "10 mg" active label is not proof of total usable cake. A conservative USP <71> submitted-container accession uses two dedicated culture containers, one for FTM and one for SCDM, plus one reserved analytical/Rapid container, for three total. USP <71> may be ordered and accessioned; unresolved procedure, exact product/matrix suitability, or media-control findings are surfaced to our staff for resolution and do not block entry, signing, or release. Optional consistency vials answer a separate question about vial-to-vial consistency.

What is the minimum sample amount for 4X, 8X, a retest, or consistency testing?

There is no safe universal mg or mL minimum. For controlled intake, ordinary 4X/8X work initially reserves one sealed analytical container, but the label claim does not prove total usable material and the lab may request more after reviewing the exact panel, matrix, presentation, destructive preparations, controls, repeats, and reserve. A submitted-container USP <71> plan conservatively uses two dedicated culture containers plus the analytical container. Consistency testing requires at least two independently analyzed same-lot vials. A retest is reviewed against remaining retained material and the new scope; never promise that the original vial or reserve is sufficient.

Does the sterility test need more than one vial?

Yes. The conservative USP <71> submitted-container accession uses both Fluid Thioglycollate Medium (FTM) and Soybean-Casein Digest Medium (SCDM), with one dedicated whole sealed container for each medium, plus one reserved analytical/Rapid container, for three total. A "10 mg" active label does not establish total physical fill, and the laboratory may request supplemental material until the exact analytical ledger is qualified. Required culture containers are included with the service and are not paid conformity repeats. A one-container Rapid DNA result remains a research screen, not a sterility test or viable-CFU claim.

Is a one-vial sterility result a lot-release pass under USP 71?

No, and we will not certify it as one. A one-container Rapid DNA result is not USP <71> at all. For a USP <71> production-batch claim, the chapter's parenteral sampling table applies per medium: for a lot up to 100 finished containers, at least 10% or 4 containers, whichever is greater, are tested in each medium. A 40-container lot therefore has a conservative minimum of eight culture containers: four for FTM and four for SCDM, plus the separately reserved analytical allocation. Axiom accepts the declared service into controlled accession. An incomplete laboratory qualification or material ledger prevents a batch-representative PASS and is surfaced to our staff for resolution; entry, signing, and release are not blocked. Required culture containers are not paid conformity repeats.

Is conformity testing the same thing as cross-vial consistency?

Yes: one product, two names, and the naming is our fault. "Per-vial conformity" is the choice you make on a multi-vial submission (each vial is analysed separately instead of pooled); "cross-vial consistency" is what those extra vials are billed as, starting at $95 and stepping down per vial. The mechanics: send at least two vials from one lot in a single submission; each vial's identity mass, purity, and net content are recorded independently. Every vial must meet its own acceptance criterion, the content mean must be on target, and the content coefficient of variation must sit inside the 5% default limit (tightenable per lot). Two vials is the minimum because a single vial has no uniformity to measure.

What does "Containers tested" on the certificate mean?

For a USP <71> execution, it is the observed number of physical containers allocated to the two-media sterility determination, locked from the accepted service plan and verified against vial intake before release. It is not automatically the shipment's total physical-vial count and does not include analytical containers established by the signed panel material budget or optional consistency vials. The count prints face up so a no-growth result cannot be read as covering containers that were never tested. The Rapid DNA research screen does not use a USP <71> containers-tested claim.

Turnaround and logistics

How long it takes, from when, and what happens to your vial.

How long does testing take?

Normal 4X and 8X turnaround is 6 business days average, measured from receipt of the required accession allocation. When staff confirms rush availability, targets are 48-hour for 4X and 72-hour for 8X. Rush pricing is quoted per order rather than published. Paid intake is open; unresolved method, criterion, or material evidence is surfaced to our staff for resolution and does not block entry, signing, or release. USP <71> is separate and requires not less than 14 days of incubation after test initiation, followed by review and any required investigation.

Is rush testing always available, and what does it cost?

No. Rush is capacity-, method-, material-, and scope-dependent and must be confirmed by staff for the exact order. The current target is 48-hour for eligible 4X work and 72-hour for eligible 8X work, but 8X stability and investigation holds cannot be skipped. Rush pricing is quoted per order and is not a published flat fee. USP <71>'s 14-day incubation cannot be compressed or rushed.

Is turnaround measured from when I place the order?

No, it is measured from when the vial arrives at the lab. Inbound shipping is under your control and outside ours, so counting it would let a slow courier turn into a broken promise from us. It also means the clock you are quoted is the clock we can actually keep.

Why can an 8X result take longer even though the published average is the same?

The six-business-day figure is an average, not a guarantee for every sample. 8X adds endotoxin, an elemental sweep, and a post-reconstitution stability hold of at least 24 hours. Those workflows normally run in parallel, but an investigation, repeat, or failed control can extend final review. A stability hold cannot be hurried without ceasing to be a stability result.

Do you offer a compendial USP 71 sterility test?

Yes. The published USP <71> module is $175 per selected sample and has a 14-day minimum that cannot be rushed. Axiom accepts a declared service and freezes its conservative accession allocation. Unresolved service scope, procedure, product/matrix suitability, media controls, incubation evidence, criteria, or material profile prevents a compendial sterility PASS and is surfaced to our staff for resolution; entry, signing, and release are not blocked. Rapid DNA may likewise be accessioned, but it remains a separate research screen and is never USP <71>, sterility, or viable CFU. Checkout is authoritative for the exact order total.

Where do I ship my sample?

The receiving address is issued with your order, so the vial arrives keyed to the right accession rather than to a general mailbox. Start at https://axiomanalyticslab.com/submit. Ship sealed, unopened vials only.

Submitting samples

Lot numbers, blends, and how to make sure what we test is what you meant.

Can I submit the same lot number twice?

No. A lot number may be submitted once, and a repeat is refused with an error that names the earlier sample and its order, because two certificates describing one physical batch, with nothing recording which is authoritative, is how a verification surface ends up contradicting itself. A deliberate re-test is supported and declared instead: say that the new submission supersedes the earlier sample and why (panel upgrade, retest, stability timepoint, second opinion), and the new certificate supersedes the old one on release. And testing several vials from one lot is neither of those: submit once with all the vials.

How do I declare a blend or multi-component product?

Send the structure, not the sentence. Free-text label claims are capped at 200 characters because that field prints on the certificate, and a full per-component blend declaration overflows it immediately (a plain-English eight-component claim runs three times the cap). The per-component detail belongs in the structured components list, where each component carries its own declared mass and the blend's ratio becomes verifiable against the total. A short total in the label claim ("216 mg per 10 mL vial") plus the structured component list is the shape we can actually certify against.

What happens if the compound name I send does not match your catalog?

We refuse it and hand you the closest catalog candidates, rather than guessing, because a confident best-effort match is how a certificate ends up attesting the wrong molecule. Resolution is exact at every step: your canonical id, then your own saved alias map, then an exact catalog name or synonym, with punctuation and spacing folded so "5 Amino 1MQ" matches "5-Amino-1MQ". If you are unsure, ask the resolve endpoint (GET /api/v1/compounds/resolve?q=...) what we will map a name to: it runs the same resolver the submission runs, against your own alias map, so a dry run there cannot disagree with the real submission.

Can I build up one order as my vials arrive over several days?

Yes, that is what consignments are for. Repeat the same order reference across submissions and the samples land on one open order: one invoice and one shipment at the end instead of a new order per vial. Nothing on an open consignment is invoiced or benched until you close it, so a package built over a week is billed and received as the single physical shipment it actually is.

Reading your results

What the numbers mean, and the four ways they are commonly misread.

What does 99% purity actually mean?

It means that of everything the detector could see, 99% of the chromatographic area was the main peak. Our purity layer is RP-HPLC 214nm (USP 621), and 214 nm is the wavelength where the peptide bond absorbs. The number is a ratio, and the denominator is everything that absorbed at that wavelength and eluted during the run. That is the right denominator for related peptide impurities and it is the wrong denominator for anything without a chromophore.

How can a vial be 99% pure and still under-dosed?

Easily, and this is the single most common misreading in this market. Purity is a proportion; content is a quantity. A vial containing 5 mg of very clean peptide against a 10 mg label claim is 99% pure and half the labelled dose. Salts, counter-ions such as TFA, residual moisture and bulking agents do not absorb at 214 nm, so they never enter the purity denominator and cannot pull the percentage down. That is why net peptide content is a separate measurement rather than a second view of the same one.

What is net peptide content?

Quantitative HPLC vs reference std. It is the milligrams of the actual target compound in the vial, with moisture, salts and counter-ions stripped out, compared against the label claim. It is not the fill weight of the powder, and the gap between the two is routinely large.

Why does the identity result show ppm as well as daltons?

Because a mass error in daltons is not comparable across compounds. A 1.0 Da error is enormous on a 161 Da small molecule and unremarkable on a 4813 Da peptide. The ppm figure normalises the error against the molecule's own mass, so it is the number that tells you whether the identity is tight or merely inside a generous absolute window.

What is a mass basis, and why does it matter?

A molecule has two commonly quoted masses: the monoisotopic mass, using the most abundant isotope of each element, and the average mass, weighted across natural isotope abundance. They are different numbers for the same molecule. Comparing an observed monoisotopic reading against an average theoretical value produces an error that belongs to the reference rather than to the vial. Our certificates state the basis so the comparison is checkable.

Does a passing sterility screen mean the vial is safe to inject?

No, and nothing on our certificates should be read that way. Our testing is for research use. Separately from that: a rapid microbial screen is not a compendial sterility release, and sterility does not cover bacterial endotoxin, which is a heat-stable cell wall fragment that survives sterilisation. Sterility and endotoxin are two different questions needing two different tests.

What does not detected mean on the fentanyl screen?

Not present above the method detection limit, for the analogs on the target list. A targeted screen cannot rule out an adulterant it was not looking for, and we state the limit rather than implying an absolute.

Trust, accreditation and verification

What we hold, what we do not hold, and how to check a certificate without trusting us.

Is Axiom ISO 17025 accredited?

Axiom Analytics does not currently hold ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation in its own right. Physical instrument analysis is performed within Axiom's laboratory network, and where analysis is subcontracted the method is performed within that partner laboratory's published ISO/IEC 17025 scope of accreditation for that method, not merely at a laboratory that holds accreditation. Partner laboratory identities are not disclosed: samples are analysed under double-blind conditions, identified only by an internal lot ID. Axiom performs accession, chain of custody, analytical oversight and data review, and issues and is responsible for the certificate. The platform identifies method status beside each result; absent reopenable signed method/QMS evidence prevents PASS and creates a finding surfaced to our staff for resolution without closing controlled accession, observation entry, signing, or release. Software controls are not a substitute for physical laboratory qualification.

If you are not accredited, why should I trust a result?

Because the result is checkable and each reported layer carries its method status. Validated in-house and verified-compendial are historical/controlled vocabulary that require reopenable signed evidence; a research screen is not a validated PASS claim. Descriptive software records alone never authorize PASS. Unresolved qualification is surfaced to our staff for resolution and blocks neither signing nor release, while authenticated release authorization remains mandatory. Accreditation is separate: Axiom does not currently hold ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation in its own right, and where instrument analysis is subcontracted the method is performed within that partner laboratory's published ISO/IEC 17025 scope for that method. The full statement is printed on every certificate.

How do I verify an Axiom certificate?

Look the report ID up against the laboratory record rather than trusting the copy you were sent. Scan the QR on the certificate, enter the report ID at axiomanalyticslab.com/verify, or call the public JSON endpoint. All three resolve to our servers, not to the vendor's, which is the property that makes verification worth anything.

Can I verify a certificate without trusting your website?

Yes. Every released certificate carries an Ed25519 signature over a SHA-384 digest of a canonical payload. We publish the exact canonicalisation and digest recipe and the public keys as a JWKS, so you can reproduce the digest and verify a certificate you already hold entirely offline with a standard crypto library. If our site were compromised tomorrow, that archived certificate would still be verifiable against keys you already have.

Can a vendor edit their certificate?

No. The certificate is signed over its own contents, so any change breaks the signature. A genuine correction goes through an amendment, which produces a new version, re-signs it, retains the superseded version, and records the reason. Authenticity and standing are two separate checks: a withdrawn certificate is still authentically signed, and our verification endpoint reports the signature and the state separately rather than collapsing them into one word.

Do you sell peptides, or take money from brands you test?

No. We own zero retail brands and zero inventory. We are a data-verification laboratory, and the only thing we sell is the analysis.

Are your certificates public?

A released certificate lives at its own public URL and anyone holding the report ID can retrieve and verify it. We deliberately do not publish a browsable directory or a per-brand index, because enumerating one client's whole testing history is that client's decision and not ours. The layout at axiomanalyticslab.com/example-coa is explicitly illustrative, unsigned, and non-verifiable; it is not a laboratory record.

Can I put my certificate on my own product page?

Yes. There is an embeddable widget and a public API, so a certificate can render on your site while still resolving against our servers. That is the point: an image of a certificate hosted by the seller proves nothing, and an embed that resolves to the laboratory does.

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