Lyophilised powder or solution: what the form of a vial means for buying and storing it

Written 23 September 2026, last changed 16 October 2026 by the trade desk. About 6 minutes to read.

160 of the 168 lines here are freeze-dried powder, most kept at minus 20 degrees Celsius; five are aqueous solutions kept at 2 to 8 degrees and never frozen (Insulin, Lipo-C without B12, Lipo-C with B12, L-Carnitine and Lemon Bottle), and Vitamin B12 and Bacteriostatic Water are filled vials kept at room temperature. The form decides how a vial is labelled, tested and stored, so it is worth knowing which is which before you order.

Lyophilised powder

The peptide is dissolved, filtered, filled into the vial and freeze-dried there, leaving a dry cake under vacuum or inert gas. The label states milligrams of material per vial. It is stable at minus 20 degrees Celsius for its 24-month shelf life and tolerates a short spell at ambient temperature in transit. The certificate reports purity, net content and identity on the dry material; water content and residual solvents are limits in its specification.

Aqueous solution

The lipotropic blends, the carnitine line and insulin are mixed, filtered and filled as a liquid: 10 mL a vial for the blends and the carnitine line, 3 mL for insulin. The label states the total active content per vial rather than a peptide weight, and where the line is a blend the certificate lists each component. The solution lines, the lipotropic blends, the carnitine line and insulin, are stored at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, never frozen, and there is no water-content test because water is the vehicle.

How to tell them apart on the list

The specification table on each compound page says which form the line takes: a peptide or small-molecule powder table carries a water limit and a minus 20 storage line, a protein powder table carries an endotoxin line instead of a water limit, and a solution table carries a 2 to 8 storage line and a "do not freeze" instruction. Bacteriostatic water is a solution too, and is stored at room temperature.

Why it matters for a shipment

Powder and solution can share a carton, but a solution must not be frozen on arrival and a powder must go back to the freezer. If a consignment mixes the two, split them at goods-in before anything goes into storage.

Which code is which form, from today’s list

Every line on the list by form: what the label states, what the specification sets, and where the box goes at goods-in. 160 of the 168 lines are lyophilised powder, grouped here by the specification each is made to; the rest are listed by code.

Code or group	Line	Form	The label states	The specification sets	Storage	At goods-in
Peptide powders	136 lines: every powder on the price list not named in another row	Lyophilised powder	Milligrams of material per vial	Purity, identity, any single related substance, water, acetate, residual solvents, net content, closure, storage, shelf life	minus 20 degrees Celsius, dark and dry; brief ambient transit tolerated	Freezer, minus 20 degrees Celsius
Small-molecule powders	11 lines: AICAR, SLU-PP-332, Dihexa, NAD+, Glutathione, 5-Amino-1MQ	Lyophilised powder	Milligrams of material per vial	Purity, identity, any single related substance, water, net content, closure, storage, shelf life	minus 20 degrees Celsius, dark and dry; brief ambient transit tolerated	Freezer, minus 20 degrees Celsius
Protein and preparation powders	10 lines: ACE-031, Follistatin, GDF-8, IGF-1 LR3, IGF-DES, Cerebrolysin, Thymalin, EPO	Lyophilised powder	Milligrams of material per vial, or international units on the 2 lines stated in IU	Purity, identity, endotoxin, net content, closure, storage, shelf life	minus 20 degrees Celsius, dark and dry; brief ambient transit tolerated	Freezer, minus 20 degrees Celsius
Protein powders kept cold	3 lines: HCG, HMG	Lyophilised powder	International units per vial	Purity, identity, endotoxin, net content, closure, storage, shelf life	2 to 8 degrees Celsius or minus 20 degrees Celsius as the desk confirms for a batch, dark and dry; brief ambient transit tolerated	Refrigerator or freezer, as the desk confirms for a batch
LC120	Lipo-C without B12 120mg x 10 vials	Aqueous solution	120 mg of active content in a 10 mL vial	Appearance, identity, assay, any single related substance, net content, closure, storage, shelf life	2 to 8 degrees Celsius, dark; do not freeze	Refrigerator, 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, never the freezer
LC216	Lipo-C with B12 216mg x 10 vials	Aqueous solution	216 mg of active content in a 10 mL vial	Appearance, identity, assay, any single related substance, net content, closure, storage, shelf life	2 to 8 degrees Celsius, dark; do not freeze	Refrigerator, 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, never the freezer
LC600	L-Carnitine 600mg/10ml x 14 vials	Aqueous solution	10 mL of fill	Appearance, identity, assay, any single related substance, net content, closure, storage, shelf life	2 to 8 degrees Celsius, dark; do not freeze	Refrigerator, 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, never the freezer
LEMON	Lemon Bottle 10ml x 10 vials	Aqueous solution	10 mL of fill	Appearance, identity, assay, any single related substance, net content, closure, storage, shelf life	2 to 8 degrees Celsius, dark; do not freeze	Refrigerator, 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, never the freezer
ISU	Insulin 3ml x 10 vials	Aqueous solution	3 mL of fill	Purity, identity, endotoxin, net content, closure, storage, shelf life	2 to 8 degrees Celsius, dark; do not freeze	Refrigerator, 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, never the freezer
B12	Vitamin B12 10mg x 10 vials	Filled vial	10 mg per vial	Appearance, identity, net content, closure, storage, shelf life	15 to 25 degrees Celsius, dark	Room-temperature shelf, never the freezer
BAC3	Bacteriostatic Water 3ml x 10 vials	Filled vial	3 mL of fill	Appearance, identity, net content, closure, storage, shelf life	15 to 25 degrees Celsius, dark	Room-temperature shelf, never the freezer
BAC10	Bacteriostatic Water 10ml x 10 vials	Filled vial	10 mL of fill	Appearance, identity, net content, closure, storage, shelf life	15 to 25 degrees Celsius, dark	Room-temperature shelf, never the freezer

A mixed carton is split by this table before anything is put away, each code to the place its row names: most powders to the freezer, the solution codes to the refrigerator, and the filled vials to the shelf.

Applies to

This guide was written with Retatrutide, L-Carnitine, Lipo-C with B12 and Bacteriostatic Water in mind, and it holds for the other lines of their kind; the full list is on the compounds page.

Questions about powder and solution

What does lyophilised mean?

Freeze-dried. The material is frozen and the water drawn off under vacuum, leaving a dry cake in the vial. It is the form most of this list is supplied in, it is why these ship without a cold chain, and it is why the specification sets a water limit at all.

How do I tell whether a line is powder or solution?

By the form line on its compound page, not by the unit on the list: some solutions are quoted in mg and some filled vials in mL. This guide’s form table gives the form of every code on today’s list, and each compound page states it too.

Are solutions stored differently?

Yes, and it is the difference that matters most. Lyophilised stock is held at minus 20 degrees Celsius, dark and dry. The solution lines on this list, the Lipo-C blends, L-carnitine and insulin, are labelled do not freeze and go in the refrigerator at 2 to 8 degrees. Ancillary items keep at room temperature.

Does the certificate differ between the two?

It does. A peptide powder’s certificate reports purity by RP-HPLC, net content and identity by mass spectrometry; water, acetate and residual solvents are its specification, answered by the desk for a particular batch. A Lipo-C or L-carnitine solution’s certificate reports appearance, identity and an assay for each labelled component, and its net content; water and residual solvents do not apply to it. A protein line’s reports purity and identity by the methods it names, endotoxin and its net content, and insulin, though it is a solution, reports that way too.