A Certificate of Analysis is the only piece of paper that separates a real research peptide from a sugar-pill scam. This guide walks through every section of a CoA, what the numbers actually mean, and the specific red flags that mean a certificate cannot be relied on.
A Certificate of Analysis (CoA) is a one-page lab report describing what's inside a specific vial or batch of peptide. A legitimate CoA is produced by a third-party laboratory, not the in-house QA team of the company whose product it is, and is tied to a specific batch number that you can verify against the label on the vial you received.
If the CoA isn't dated, doesn't reference a batch number, or comes from a lab that doesn't exist, it's marketing, not testing.
Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry confirms the molecule in the vial is the peptide on the label. The report shows a measured mass that should match the theoretical mass of the peptide to within a few daltons. Without an identity test, you have no proof the vial contains what you think it contains: just a purity number for "something".
High-Performance Liquid Chromatography separates the peptide from impurities and reports purity as a percentage. Research-grade peptides are typically 97-99% pure. Anything under 95% should be treated as suspect. Look for the chromatogram itself. A clean single peak vs a forest of small peaks tells you more than any number.
This is the test most company-issued CoAs skip. Quantitative HPLC measures how much of the labelled mg is actually peptide, as opposed to mannitol, salts, or moisture. A vial can be 99% pure but contain only 60% of the labelled mg.
Every CoA aggregated on LabDoc is parsed, the lab name is matched against a list of known third-party laboratories, and identity/purity/content fields are extracted with the original chromatogram preserved. Companies can't edit numbers after submission. Results are categorised as Pass (≥95% HPLC, identity confirmed), Needs Review (one test missing), or Fail.