Custom peptide synthesis services for research use: how custom peptides synthesis is quoted, and what peptide custom synthesis specifications change the price
Custom peptide synthesis is quoted per residue at a stated purity and scale, and the two specifications that move the price most are the ones buyers leave vague. Everything on this page concerns peptides supplied for laboratory research: reagents for assays, immunogens, standards and substrates. This site does not cover peptides intended for human use, and nothing here is guidance on administering anything to a person.
- the FDA labelling clause behind research use only on a reagent
- 809.10(c)
- good laboratory practice for nonclinical studies, 21 CFR
- Part 58
- hazard communication, which decides what the container must tell the user
- 1910.1200
Figures in this panel are the rules that decide what a reagent may claim and what its container must say, named from the regulations themselves and linked in the sources below. They are identifiers, not prices: BioBricks publishes verified prices for synthesis services only, and does not imply a reagent price index it has not measured.
- 4 vendor service pages verifiedevery figure matched verbatim to the vendor's page
- Quoted and dated, never estimatedlast verification pass 2026-08-24
- 1 service classes coveredeach with measured search demand behind it
What sets the quote
- Length and sequence difficulty. Price rises with length and rises faster where the sequence is difficult: hydrophobic stretches, aggregation-prone regions and repeats all reduce coupling efficiency. Providers will often assess a sequence before quoting, and a sequence flagged as difficult is a warning about yield rather than a sales technique.
- Purity grade is the largest lever. Crude material suits epitope mapping and screening; intermediate grades suit antibody production; the highest grades suit quantitative assays and structural work. Each step up costs a purification pass and a yield loss, so specify the grade the application needs rather than the highest available.
- Scale, and what you will actually use. Peptides are usually quoted at a delivered mass, and laboratories routinely order far more than an assay will consume before the material degrades. Order what will be used within a sensible period and reorder, unless the peptide is for a long programme.
- Modifications are priced individually. Terminal capping, labels, biotinylation, phosphorylation, cyclisation, non-natural residues and isotope labels each add reagent cost and steps. List every modification in the request, because a modification added after quoting frequently changes the route.
- Analytics and what you receive. Expect mass spectrometry confirming identity and a purity determination by chromatography with the trace. For quantitative work, ask about the net peptide content, since a mass of lyophilised material includes counterion and water and is not all peptide.
Research use, and the boundary this site keeps
Peptides supplied by research vendors are labelled for laboratory research use and are not for use in or on people. This hub covers them as laboratory reagents: what they are, how supply is specified, and how to verify what arrived. It does not cover human use, and it publishes no guidance on dosing or administration.
Where a peptide is destined for a regulated application, the manufacturing route and the documentation are a different purchase entirely and belong with a contract manufacturer rather than a research catalogue supplier.
Verifying what arrived
Read the certificate before using the material: the observed mass against the expected mass, the chromatographic purity with its method, and the net peptide content where quantitation matters. A certificate without a trace is a claim without evidence.
Solubility is the most common practical problem, and it is predictable from the sequence. Ask the provider for a recommended solvent, and dissolve a small test quantity before committing the whole batch to a buffer it may not enter.
Common questions
- What purity should I order for a custom peptide?
- Crude for screening and epitope mapping, an intermediate grade for raising antibodies, and a high grade for quantitative assays and structural work. Each grade above the need adds a purification pass and cost without improving the result.
- What does net peptide content mean?
- The proportion of the delivered mass that is actually peptide, the rest being counterion, water and residual salts. It matters whenever a concentration has to be accurate, and it is reported separately from chromatographic purity.
- Why is my peptide insoluble?
- Sequence composition largely determines solubility, and hydrophobic or aggregation-prone peptides need a specific solvent approach. Ask the provider for a recommendation and test a small quantity before committing the batch.
- Are research peptides suitable for human use?
- No. They are supplied and labelled for laboratory research only. This site covers them as laboratory reagents and publishes no guidance on human use.
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Sources
Cite or embed this figure
The median advertised gene synthesis price per base pair in the US research synthesis services market was $0.11 in August 2026, across 4 verified vendor service pages recorded in BioBricks Synthesis Price Index.
Cite as: "BioBricks Synthesis Price Index", updated 2026-08-24, https://biobricks.org/custom-peptide-synthesis-service/.