Major Pros & Cons Of Custom Peptide Synthesis You Need To Know

The twenty-first century has seen rapid advancement and development in Biotechnology, especially peptide synthesis. Natural peptides can no longer meet the demands of clinical study, research, and medical applications. Thanks to cutting-edge technologies, peptide chemists can leverage custom peptide synthesis to cater to the growing demand.

Synthetic peptides are vital in preparing epitope-specific antibodies, epitope mapping, vaccine development, novel drug research, and antibody sequencing services. The sole advantage of tech breakthroughs in peptide synthesis research is that researchers can now use creativity and imagination to develop unique peptides optimized to achieve the desired biological responses. This post will explore the potential benefits and drawbacks of custom peptide synthesis.

Exclusive Benefits of Custom Peptide Synthesis

Speed Up Research

Custom peptide synthesis allows the production of unique sequences optimized for specific protocols. Targeting a specific biological activity can increase the experiments’ accuracy and the research as a whole, thus speeding up the research time.

Custom peptide sequences streamline the research methodology and throughput and minimize errors in analysis. You can maximize the number of specimens you can analyse on different SPSS surfaces, increasing your sample size.

Minimize Errors

Manual protein synthesis requires intricate detailing. The analysts may have to monitor every step carefully to prevent contamination of the different specimens, surfaces, or reagents. Yet even the most diligent analysts are human and can commit errors that compromise research throughput.

Most commercial custom peptide processors use automated processes, negating the risk of any human errors. Minimizing errors can increase the validity of results and improve productivity in the lab.

Reduce Experimental Costs

While the purchase cost for custom synthetic peptide chains is high, the long-term benefits tend to outweigh the initial cost. The overall cost of correcting human errors associated with manual synthesis can exceed the potential savings you intend to make.

Reducing the risk of errors by leveraging the latest technology of commercial peptide processors can provide additional savings for your experimental costs. You can divert the funds to more demanding sectors of the lab operations.

Also Read: Get A Better Clarity About the New 100% Commission Model

Enjoy A Wide Spectrum of Purities

Custom peptide synthesis allows you to pick sequences of different purity levels depending on your assay needs. The purity of a peptide sequence is calculated by finding the ratio of the peptide and the impurities. Standard purity scales include:

• Crude grade <10%
• Immunological grade >70% pure
• Biochemistry grade >80% pure
• Quantitative grade 90-95% pure
• Commercial grade 95% pure

Some commercial peptide synthesis companies provide guarantees of >99% purity. The purity levels depend on the specific requirements when ordering the custom-synthesized peptides. You can receive a certificate of analysis, HPLC, or Mass spectroscopy data to confirm the purity levels.

Pick Desirable Modifications

Synthetic peptides not only mimic the binding and functional sites of proteins but also incorporate diverse chemical modifications of the peptide backbone. The structural and chemical diversity arising from the modifications increases the proteolytic stability of the sequences produced.

You can access over 300 modifications, such as:

• Methylation
• Phosphorylation
• Acetylation
• Amidation
• Conjugation
• Cyclization
• Fluorescence Labelling
• Multiple Antigenic Peptide

You can include the desired modifications and labels when making the order.

Enjoy Additional Technical Analyses

You can request additional analysis for your custom peptide chains, streamlining your research work. Some commercial custom peptide providers offer a free solubility test where the custom sequences are tested in basic and acidic conditions, and the recommendations are provided in the certificate of analysis.

Moreover, you can include other tests, such as:

• Stability
• Aggregation
• Turbidity
• Hydrophobicity
• Microanalysis on net peptide content

You can take advantage of the state-of-the-art equipment in most commercial peptide synthesis companies to learn more about the peptide composition and its properties.

Attain Desired Protein Length and Quantity

A custom peptide synthesis run produces 5-50 mg of unique sequences. Depending on the peptide composition requested, you may need several sequencing runs to attain the desired length and quantity.

Most commercial labs can scale up production for long-chained peptides and “difficult sequences.” You can choose from peptides as short as two amino acids to chains with over a hundred amino acids.

Potential Drawbacks To Custom Peptide Synthesis

Can Be Pricey

Commercial custom peptide synthesis labs invest in expensive technologies and machinery to improve the quality of their products. The price quoted for the custom peptide sequence can be prohibitively high.

The price may depend on the sequence length, purity level, quantity, and modifications requested. Additional technical analyses can also add to the final cost. However, the purity and quality of the peptide sequence can provide potential savings from the errors associated with manually synthesized peptides.

Can Take Time

Another potential drawback is that your custom peptide order may take time to process. Most commercial peptide synthesis companies provide a turnaround of approximately five days.

The period can be shorter or longer depending on the quantity ordered, purity level desired, quality control measures requested, and modifications. Errors such as side-chaining can result in resynthesize, interrupting your research time.

Conclusion

Custom-synthesized peptides play a critical role in biotechnology and bioengineering. They are vital for drug, vaccine, enzyme, and antibody production. Outsourcing to a commercial custom peptide synthesis company can speed up your research, minimize errors, and help you find the desired length, purity, and modification for your peptide chain. However, this can come at a steep price and can take time. Take time to research the different commercial custom peptide synthesis providers before placing your order.