Updated 2026-10-07 · 1 certificate ·
Issued by AxisPharm, LLC · Laboratory documentation · Research use only
This guide covers one of the certificates of analysis we publish for KPV, the tripeptide
Lys-Pro-Val: lot KPV10VAS0826, for the 10 mg vial. It was issued by AxisPharm, LLC, the testing laboratory our supplier, Protixa, sends samples to,
and Protixa provided it to us. Below: every field the certificate prints, what each test measures, what the detected
mass says about the form tested, how to open the laboratory's own copy, and the main caveat: the Certificate ID is dated
two days after the report date.
We also publish the certificates for lots KPV10V1125 and KPV10VAS0126
on the product page and in the certificate library. Their PDFs show changes made after their report dates, including to the printed lot number, so this guide doesn't go through them field by field.
Report date and Certificate ID don't
agree. The report date and the sample-received date both read August 24, 2026, as does the instrument data file
named above the UV trace (20260824). The Certificate ID reads 26Aug2026-05,
two days later, and the PDF itself was created on August 26. On most certificates in our library the ID begins with
the report date, and every one whose ID doesn't follows the same pattern: an August 2026 report addressed to Cell
Wellness, with an ID dated one or two days after the report date and a PDF created on the ID's date. The PDF doesn't
explain the difference. The same
pattern appears on our NAD+ 1000 mg certificate, whose
copy on AxisPharm's website is identical to ours.
Laboratory copy. The QR code on both pages links to a PDF under this lot number on
AxisPharm's website, so the laboratory's copy can be opened and compared with this one. On October 5, 2026 we compared that copy with the PDF published here: the two
files were identical, byte for byte.
No amount in the sample name. The sample name
reads “KPV” with no amount, and there is no label-claim field; the 10 mg size is
indicated by the lot number (KPV10…) and the measured 10.3 mg.
Molecular weight is for the free acid (the form catalogued), as printed on the KPV10VAS0826 and KPV10VAS0126 certificates (342.43 and 342.4 g/mol). The KPV10V1125 certificate prints 341.4 g/mol, close to the C-terminal amide (341.5); its detected ion, 344.0 [M+H], is nearer the free acid's 343.4.
Sequence
KPV
Reference identity data are cross-checked against PubChem and at least one further source.
On a certificate, an [M+H] ion is the molecule carrying one extra proton, so it reads at about the molecular
weight plus one; [M+2H] and [M+3H] carry two or three protons and read at about (MW + 2) ÷ 2
and (MW + 3) ÷ 3.
Lot
Ion
Calculated (average mass)
Detected
Difference
KPV10VAS0826
[M+H]
343.4
343.7
+0.3
Calculated on an average-mass basis: the molecular weight printed on the certificate plus 1.007 per proton, divided by the charge. An instrument that resolves isotopes reports the monoisotopic
peak instead, which sits lower: for KPV the monoisotopic [M+H] is 343.23, about 0.2 lower. The certificate doesn't state which basis the lab
reports or the instrument's mass accuracy, so the differences are shown, not graded.
KPV can be supplied in more than one form. The KPV10VAS0826 certificate's 342.43 g/mol is the free-acid
tripeptide, C16H30N4O4. A C-terminal amide (KPV-NH2) would be
about one unit lighter, 341.5 g/mol, with an [M+H] near 342.5. The detected 343.7 is 0.3 above the free-acid
value and 1.2 above the amide's, so it fits the free acid; the certificate prints no sequence or formula to confirm
it. A salt form such as the acetate or trifluoroacetate wouldn't change the [M+H] reading, and the certificate doesn't
name one.
What each test on the certificate means
UV purity
The lab separates the sample by liquid chromatography and records ultraviolet absorbance as it elutes.
UV purity is the target peak's share of the total peak area in the UV trace (at 208 nm where the
results table prints a wavelength). It counts only material that absorbs ultraviolet light: water, salts and the
counterion don't register, so it isn't the share of the powder that is peptide.
The certificate also states that salts and sugars present as fillers
aren't counted as impurities. A result written with “>”, such as “>99.3”,
is a lower bound, not an exact figure. A reproduced UV trace labelled XWC is extracted at the one
wavelength shown; one labelled TWC, a total-wavelength chromatogram, combines the detector's readings across its
wavelength range. More in
how peptide purity is measured and
how to read the HPLC chromatogram.
The main UV peak on this certificate appears within the first half-minute of the
run (0.25 min). The certificate doesn't state the column, the
gradient or when unretained material comes off the column, so how well that peak was separated from other
UV-absorbing material can't be judged from the document. The results table prints no wavelength; the trace is extracted at 200.0 nm.
Identity by LC-MS
The mass spectrometer reports ions by mass-to-charge ratio, and the certificate prints the molecular
weight next to the ion it detected. A detected ion close to the calculated value supports the identity of the
main component. It doesn't measure quantity, and molecules of the same mass (isomers) look alike to it.
Net weight measured
The lab's measured amount of material for the sample, printed beside the label claim where there is one.
The certificate doesn't say how it was measured, and it isn't net peptide content, which it doesn't report.
Endotoxin (LAL)
Bacterial endotoxin, the lipopolysaccharide of Gram-negative bacteria, measured with a Limulus amebocyte
lysate (LAL) assay and reported in endotoxin units per milligram of sample (EU/mg). The certificate prints the
value only, with no acceptance limit and no LAL method variant. More in
endotoxin on a peptide COA.
MFD and BBD
Manufacture and best-before dates, printed in the sample description next to the lot number.
The certificate reports no stability study, so a BBD is the date given for that lot, not a shelf life measured
under a stated storage condition.
Sample received and storage on receipt
When the lab received the sample, in what condition, and how the lab held it. That storage line is a
record of the lab's handling, not a storage recommendation.
Certificate ID and report date
The report's identifier and issue date. On most AxisPharm certificates in our library the ID begins with
the report date (13Jul2026-01 for a July 13, 2026 report, for example), which makes the two a useful
cross-check.
How to check this certificate
Match the lot. Find “Lot#” in the Sample Name line (KPV10VAS0826 on
that lot's certificate) and compare it with the lot number on the vial
label. A different lot number means a different certificate.
Check who issued it, and to whom. “From” names the laboratory; “To” names the
client the report went to.
Read the dates together. The report date, the date at the start of the Certificate ID, the
sample-received date and the MFD and BBD should tell one consistent story. Where they don't on the
certificates this guide goes through, the note on that certificate says so.
Compare the detected mass with the expected one. For an [M+H] ion, roughly the printed molecular
weight plus one. The identity table does this for each lot.
Read the purity with its method. A UV peak-area share, not the share of the powder that is
peptide.
Note the endotoxin unit. EU/mg, endotoxin units per milligram of sample.
Open the laboratory's copy. Where a certificate carries a QR code, it links to a
copy on AxisPharm's website that can be compared with the PDF here, field by field.
Look for the traces. Two-page reports reproduce the UV chromatogram and the mass
spectrum.
Net peptide content: the share of the powder that is peptide.
Counterion identity and amount (trifluoroacetate or acetate, for example).
Water content and residual solvents.
The column, gradient and mobile phase behind the UV purity, and, in the results table, the wavelength.
A stability study: the BBD is a date given for the lot, not a measured shelf life.
Identities for the other peaks in the reproduced mass spectrum: the results table names only the ion it reports.
Where this certificate comes from, and caveats
Who ordered the tests. PepsMartUSA didn't. AxisPharm, LLC issued the certificate, and our
supplier, Protixa, provided it to us. It is addressed to Cell Wellness, a separate company under the same ownership as Protixa.
It prints Protixa as the brand name. More in
where the certificates come from.
No second laboratory. No second laboratory's result is published for this lot.
As provided. We publish each PDF as our supplier provides it and don't edit it.
One lot each. A certificate describes the sample the lab tested from one lot. The lot number is the
only link between a vial and a certificate. The laboratory's footer on each page
says the same: its analytical data apply only to the batch tested.
The vials are lyophilized (freeze-dried) powder. The label's storage line reads −20 °C long term,
2–8 °C short term, protect from light: the freezer for long-term holding, a refrigerator for a short hold,
dark and dry in both cases, with the seal intact. The certificate describes the material on its report date; storage affects how it changes afterwards. Full detail in peptide
storage.
KPV (Lys-Pro-Val) contains none of the residue types that Bachem's handling guidelines single out as
limiting a peptide's shelf life (asparagine, glutamine, methionine, cysteine and tryptophan); the general guidance
above still applies.
Questions about the KPV certificate this guide covers
Is the KPV on the KPV10VAS0826 certificate the free acid or the amide?
The detected mass fits the free acid. The KPV10VAS0826 certificate prints 342.43 g/mol, the free tripeptide
Lys-Pro-Val (C16H30N4O4, PubChem CID 125672), and reports 343.7 [M+H],
0.3 above the value calculated from it. The C-terminal amide would read near 342.5, 1.2 below the reported ion. The
certificate prints no sequence or formula.
How does KPV relate to alpha-MSH?
KPV is the three-residue sequence, Lys-Pro-Val, that ends alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH,
residues 11 to 13). In α-MSH that end is amidated; the KPV10VAS0826 certificate's 342.43 g/mol is the free-acid tripeptide,
a separate compound from α-MSH itself.
Why is the KPV10VAS0826 certificate ID dated after its report?
The report date and sample-received date read August 24, 2026, as does the instrument data file; the
Certificate ID, 26Aug2026-05, carries the date the PDF was created, August 26. The certificate
doesn't explain it. Every certificate in our library whose ID and report date differ is an August 2026 report
addressed to Cell Wellness with the same pattern, including the
NAD+ 1000 mg certificate, whose copy on AxisPharm's
website is identical to ours.
Why doesn't the KPV10VAS0826 certificate print an amount?
Its sample name reads “KPV” and it has no label-claim field, a format several August 2026
reports in our library share. The 10 mg size is indicated by the lot number, KPV10VAS0826, and the measured
10.3 mg. The certificate describes the sample the laboratory tested from that lot; the lot number on a vial's
label is what ties that vial to it.
Did PepsMartUSA order this test?
No. AxisPharm, LLC issued the certificate and our supplier, Protixa, provided it.
It is addressed to Cell Wellness, a separate company under the same ownership as Protixa, and prints Protixa as the brand name. No second laboratory's result is published for
this lot.
For research use only. Not FDA approved, and not for
human or animal consumption. This certificate is a laboratory document about the material tested; nothing
on this page is an instruction for use of any kind. See the research use policy.
