Getting Started

From vial to solution

The whole arc of working with a lyophilized vial, in five steps: receive and inspect it, reconstitute it, measure it on a syringe, store it, and log it. Each step links to a full guide if you want to go deeper.

This is a research-preparation walkthrough for the bench. It explains how to turn a dry vial into a characterised solution and keep good records of it. It is not, and contains no, usage or dosing instruction, see Research use & safety for the framing that governs all of it.

Before you start

Gather everything you'll need first, on a clean surface, so you're not improvising mid-prep:

The vial + its COA

Your lyophilized vial and the certificate of analysis it shipped with.

Diluent

Bacteriostatic or sterile water as the reconstitution diluent.

U-100 syringe

A U-100 insulin syringe plus fresh sterile needles or tips.

Alcohol prep pads

For wiping the stopper and keeping the working area clean.

A labelled cold spot

A marked place in the fridge or freezer for the vial.

A lab log

Somewhere to record compound, lot, concentration and date.

The five steps

Receive & inspect

The vial arrives lyophilized and cold. Check the label and the COA against your order to confirm compound and lot, and look the vial over. Keep the dry vial in the freezer until you're ready to use it.

Reconstitute

Wipe the stopper, then add your bacteriostatic or sterile water slowly, letting it run down the inside glass wall rather than onto the powder. Swirl gently to dissolve, never shake. Full method in Reconstitution.

Measure on a U-100 syringe

Once in solution, the concentration converts a target mass in micrograms into units on the syringe. The maths and how to read the barrel are in Reading a U-100 syringe.

Store

The reconstituted vial lives in the fridge, away from light, and is never re-frozen. See Storage for shelf-life and conditions.

Log

Record the compound, lot number, the concentration you prepared and the date. This keeps your work reproducible and ties every sample back to a verified batch.

A worked example

Suppose you reconstitute a 5 mg vial with 2 mL of bacteriostatic water. The concentration and what a given volume contains work out like this:

Concentration worked example

Peptide in vial5 mg = 5000 mcg

Diluent added2 mL

Concentration (5 mg ÷ 2 mL)2.5 mg/mL = 2500 mcg/mL

10 units on a U-100 syringe0.1 mL

Mass in 10 units (0.1 mL)250 mcg

Two conversions make this work: 1 mg = 1000 mcg, and on a U-100 syringe 100 units = 1 mL (so 10 units = 0.1 mL). Multiply the concentration by the volume to get the mass: 2500 mcg/mL × 0.1 mL = 250 mcg.

Where to go deeper

Each step above has a dedicated guide, and there's a calculator that does the concentration maths for you: