Dry Peptides: Fridges, Freezers, Use Frequency, And Frugal Lab Choices
If you're a lab manager who is trying to cut down on bills and supply costs, as well as cut down on waste, one area you may be looking at is peptide ordering and storage. Dry peptides seem like a good idea because they have more flexible storage requirements that don't always require energy. However, switching as many peptide orders as you can to dry peptides has its own issues, mainly climate control inside the lab.
Short- and Long-Term Storage
While liquid forms of peptides require refrigeration, dry peptides can stay at room temperature for several weeks. Longer-term storage, though -- say months -- requires freezing. One way to eventually cut your lab utility bills, then, is to order more dry peptides, but only enough so that you know you'll use them up before too long. If you can reduce the amount of freezer space you need, then you could trade in a larger, energy-hungry freezer for a smaller, more efficient freezer the next time you need to replace the appliance.
Broken Air Conditioners
The issue with storing dry peptides at room temperature, though, is that you're then at the mercy of the environment. If it's summer and the air conditioning goes out, for example, the lab could become very hot, thus destroying the dry peptides and requiring you to order more.
If you are in a building where the air conditioner is in good shape and maintenance crews can take care of issues like this quickly, then this isn't that big of a problem. Anywhere you go, you'll face a minor risk of a faulty air conditioner, so that's not something you can really plan for.
However, if the building's maintenance leaves something to be desired, and you think a broken air conditioner is a likely problem, then you may be better off sticking with liquid peptides that require refrigeration. Should anything happen with the temperature inside the lab, the peptides will be protected in the fridge.
Heat Sources
Another issue is localized heat sources, such as portable equipment or even the use of the heater in winter in the lab. You must be careful not to set hot equipment near the dry-peptide storage area, and you have to ensure the stream of hot air coming from the heater vents isn't hitting the dry peptides, either. Both of those could make it too hot for the peptides to survive. If you can't guarantee that the peptides will be protected from heat, then dry peptides stored at room temperature might not be your best choice.
The peptide suppliers you work with may be able to help you further evaluate which type of peptide is best. They could have newer forms, too, that are more stable even if the environment around them is less stable.