The use of synthetic peptides in life science research is growing as researchers in a wide variety of disciplines find applications for these reagents. Many of these peptides are easily produced by automated peptide synthesis, which enables the economic and relatively easy production of peptides in large quantities. As a result, many widely used, biologically active peptides are commercially available as pre-made catalog reagents.1 But when experimental approaches call for peptides that are not on the market, researchers have two basic options: make the peptides from scratch, or employ the services of a custom peptide facility. Those who use peptides as tools in their studies but are not focused on or experienced with the synthetic processes per se often choose to outsource the fabrication of these reagents.

For academic researchers, many universities and institutes maintain their own core facilities for peptide synthesis. When such facilities are not available, or...

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