Many research peptides are distributed lyophilized: vacuum-dried into a stable powder. Lyophilization removes the water that would otherwise promote degradation of the compound over time.

Even when lyophilized, the peptide is sensitive to heat and light. That is why the handling standard is a 2–8°C cold chain, protected from light. Maintaining that temperature from storage through shipping reduces degradation risk and preserves the purity documented in the CoA.

In practice, this means refrigerated shipping and a recommendation to keep the vial refrigerated until research use. The cold chain is not a luxury: it is part of the quality of the material.