Frequently asked questions

No. Every product listed on this site is supplied strictly for in-vitro laboratory research and analytical reference use by qualified personnel. Mercia Research peptides are not pharmaceuticals, are not licensed for therapeutic use, and must not be administered to humans or animals. Any other use falls outside the terms under which the products are supplied.

Every lot is tested for purity by HPLC and confirmed for identity by mass spectrometry. Our standard target is ≥99% peptide purity (with a few cosmetic and antioxidant compounds released at ≥98%). We do not release any batch that fails an assay, and the actual measured purity for the lot you receive is printed on the Certificate of Analysis shipped with your vial.

Yes. Every vial ships with a lot-matched Certificate of Analysis summarising HPLC purity, mass spectrometry identity, lot number, manufacturing date, and recommended storage conditions. The lot printed on the vial matches the lot on the COA — full provenance, no guesswork.

Yes. All injectable-route research peptides are released against a Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) endotoxin specification appropriate for in-vitro and pre-clinical research handling. Endotoxin results for the relevant lot are summarised on request alongside the COA.

Our compounds are produced by UK-based contract manufacturers using audited solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) processes operating to a documented quality system. Final release testing — purity, identity, endotoxin where applicable — is performed in the UK before any product is offered for sale.

Lyophilised research peptides are stable for 24 months at -20 °C in their unopened, sealed lyophilised state. We rotate inventory aggressively — most products you receive will have been manufactured within the preceding 12 months. The exact manufacturing date appears on the lot COA.

Browse the catalogue, choose a vial size and quantity, add to cart and check out. You will receive an order reference (e.g. APB-2605-XXXX) and an emailed confirmation with a tracking link the moment the order is recorded in our system.

We accept all major debit and credit cards via a PCI-compliant payment processor. Bank transfer is also available for institutional orders by request. If you have any difficulty at checkout please contact us directly and we will help.

No. You can order a single vial if that is what you need. There is no minimum order value.

Yes. All product prices, shipping and totals on Mercia Research are quoted in pounds sterling (GBP, £). Your card statement will reflect the same GBP amount; any FX conversion is handled by your card issuer.

Yes, for verified academic and commercial research institutions. Contact us before placing the order with your institutional purchase order or research-group details and we will arrange tiered pricing.

You can request a modification or cancellation while the order is in the "Received" or "Processing" state on the tracking page. Once the order moves to "Packed" we have committed cold-chain materials and the order can no longer be cancelled.

All orders ship from our UK fulfilment partner. Cold-chain shipments are dispatched Monday to Thursday so they are never in transit over a weekend.

Cold-chain shipping is £14.00 within the UK. Orders over £200 ship free. International rates are calculated at checkout and depend on destination and carrier.

UK orders typically arrive next-business-day via DPD or DHL cold-chain after dispatch. International orders take 2–5 business days depending on destination and customs. You can see the current status of any order at any time at /track.

Yes. All orders are dispatched in plain outer packaging with no exterior markings other than your delivery address and the carrier label. There is nothing on the outside of the parcel to indicate its contents or that it has come from Mercia Research.

We ship to most jurisdictions where the import of research-grade peptide reference compounds is permitted by local law. We do not ship to countries where these compounds are restricted. It remains the customer's responsibility to ensure the compound is legal to import for research use at the destination.

In the rare event that an international shipment is refused entry or seized by customs, we will issue you a full refund. Please contact us with your order reference and we will resolve it promptly.

UK orders include UK VAT in the displayed price. International orders are shipped DDU — any import duties, taxes or clearance fees levied at the destination are the recipient's responsibility and are not included in our shipping charge.

Lyophilised vials are sealed under inert gas, packed in an insulated mailer with phase-change gel packs sized for the destination, and labelled "Research reagent — keep cold". Temperature-sensitive lots are packed with a single-use temperature indicator.

Because research peptides are temperature-sensitive consumables, we cannot accept returns of opened, accepted or temperature-compromised vials. If a vial is unopened and the cold-chain indicator is intact, you may request a return within 7 days of delivery for a partial refund (less shipping and a restocking fee).

Photograph the parcel and any visible damage on receipt and email us within 48 hours. If a temperature indicator has tripped or a vial is compromised, we will replace the affected vial free of charge or issue a full refund for the affected line, including shipping.

We stand behind every lot. If your independent analytical work shows the lot does not meet the specification stated on the Certificate of Analysis, send us your analytical data and we will investigate, replace the lot, or refund — depending on the outcome of the investigation.

Refunds are issued back to the original payment method within 5 business days of approval. Shipping is non-refundable unless the issue is on our side (damaged shipment, lot recall, or shipping error).

Store sealed lyophilised vials at -20 °C, protected from light and moisture, until reconstitution. Most peptides remain stable for at least 24 months in this state — check the specific COA for the storage window of your lot.

Standard practice is sterile bacteriostatic water (containing 0.9% benzyl alcohol as preservative) for multi-use vials, or sterile water for injection for single-use preparations. Some lipophilic compounds (e.g. PT-141 at very high concentrations) may require a small amount of acetic-acid solution as a pre-wet — see the specific product reconstitution note on the product page.

Stability after reconstitution varies by compound and is listed in the Storage field on each product page (commonly 7–30 days at 2–8 °C, protected from light). Avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles; aliquot if you need to store longer.

Not at this time. We recommend sourcing bacteriostatic water from a regulated medical or research supplier within your jurisdiction to ensure traceability.

Yes — straightforwardly and unambiguously yes. Research peptides are legal to purchase, possess and import in the UK for research purposes, and no prescription is required. Our products are labelled for research use only, which is the standard regulatory framework under which research compounds are supplied in the UK. Buying from a UK-registered company means your purchase is made entirely within UK law with no import complications for domestic orders.

Customers must be qualified researchers, laboratory professionals, or institutional buyers aged 18 or over who can confirm the products will be used solely for in-vitro research, analytical reference, or non-human pre-clinical applications. By placing an order you certify these conditions.

No. Mercia Research is a supplier of laboratory reference compounds. Our team does not, and cannot, provide dosing guidance, treatment recommendations, or any form of medical advice. Questions about clinical effect, side-effects, or therapeutic use should be directed to a registered medical professional.

Yes. SDS sheets for each catalogued compound are available on request to verified researcher accounts and are emailed with institutional orders. Please request these alongside your purchase order if needed for site safety documentation.

We are happy to complete reasonable supplier-verification or material-handling forms required by university procurement or institutional safety teams. Email the form to us with your order reference and we will return it within 2 business days.

In the unlikely event we identify a quality concern with a lot already shipped, we will contact every customer who received that lot directly by email, withdraw remaining stock from sale, and replace or refund the affected vials at our cost. Lot traceability is built into every order.

No — checkout works as a guest with your email address. Your order reference and tracking link are emailed to you and you can revisit them at any time from /track. Institutional accounts with saved billing details are available on request.

We process personal data (name, email, shipping address, order history) under UK GDPR for the sole purpose of fulfilling your order and providing related support. We do not sell data, do not use it for advertising, and retain order records for 6 years to satisfy HMRC commercial record-keeping requirements.

No. Payment cards are processed by a PCI-DSS-certified processor and we never store or transmit raw card numbers ourselves. We only retain the last 4 digits, expiry month and a processor token for refund processing.

Email us with your order reference and a request to erase. We will remove all personal data tied to your account, retaining only the minimum invoice records required by UK accounting law (and even then, with personal data redacted where legally permissible).

No marketing emails are sent without explicit opt-in. The only emails you will receive automatically are order confirmation and status-update notifications tied to your shipment.