Independent analytical laboratory
Analytical testing of research materials
Purity, identity, and contaminant analysis of research-use-only materials, reported with the method, the conditions, and the limits stated in full.
Purity, identity, and content are three different questions
Most disagreement in the research-materials market comes from collapsing three separate measurements into one number.
- Purity asks what fraction of the UV-absorbing, column-eluting material is the main peak. It is reported as area percent at a stated wavelength.
- Identity asks whether that main peak is the compound named on the label. It is answered by mass spectrometry against a theoretical mass, with the error stated in both daltons and parts per million.
- Content asks how many milligrams of the named compound are actually in the vial. It is answered by amino acid analysis, quantitative NMR, or a mass balance in which every subtracted term has been measured.
A vial can be 99% pure by area, correctly identified, and still hold well under its labeled mass. Water, counterion, residual solvent, and non-absorbing bulking agents contribute nothing to an area-percent figure — a material diluted with mannitol can report a high purity number and a low peptide content at the same time. All three statements can be true simultaneously.
Where content has not been determined, our reports state that explicitly rather than leaving a prominent purity figure to be read as one.
Capabilities
Described by what each method physically measures
PLACEHOLDER: confirm which of these service lines are performed in-house, which are referred to a subcontract laboratory, and which are not offered. Delete any line that is not actually available before publishing.
Purity and Identity
Reversed-phase HPLC/UPLC with UV or diode-array detection for chromatographic purity, reported as area percent at a stated wavelength — 214 nm for peptides, where the amide backbone absorbs in proportion to chain length. Paired with LC-MS identity against the theoretical mass of the named compound. UV quantifies; MS assigns. We do not report a mass-spectrometric area percent as a purity figure.
RP-HPLC-UV · LC-MS · orthogonal confirmation on request
Bacterial Endotoxin
Quantitative endotoxin measurement following the procedures of USP ⟨85⟩, or USP ⟨86⟩ where recombinant reagents are used. Results are reported in EU/mg with the sample concentration, the dilution tested, the calculated maximum valid dilution, and positive product control recovery. A non-detect is reported as a calculated less-than value, never as zero, and never as "pyrogen-free."
[[PLACEHOLDER: which BET technique(s) Arcadia actually performs — gel-clot, kinetic chromogenic, kinetic turbidimetric, or recombinant Factor C]]
Method detailHeavy Metals and Elemental Impurities
Closed-vessel microwave acid digestion followed by ICP-MS, following the procedures of USP ⟨233⟩ and the element classes of ICH Q3D. Each element is reported in µg/g of the material as received, with its limit of quantitation, alongside method blank and spike recovery results. USP ⟨231⟩ was omitted from USP–NF in 2018 and is not used here.
[[PLACEHOLDER: the element list actually on the panel, and the experimentally established per-element LOQ table in µg/g]]
Method detailFentanyl and Adulterant Screening
Contamination and adulterant screening of client research materials submitted under a written services agreement. Untargeted accurate-mass screening finds the unexpected; targeted LC-MS/MS confirmation against authentic reference standards identifies and quantifies what the screen flagged. Presumptive and confirmatory results appear as separate, separately labeled result lines. This is not a public drug-checking service.
[[PLACEHOLDER: DEA analytical laboratory registration number and state controlled-substance license — or delete this service line site-wide. Do not publish before counsel confirms registration status and sample-intake policy.]]
How it works
Four stages, with a written record at each one
The full client journey, including packaging requirements and turnaround, is set out on the process page.
Submit
Request a quote describing the material and the questions you need answered. You receive written submission instructions and a submission ID, which travels on the paperwork and on every container.
Analyze
Condition on receipt is recorded and the material enters chain of custody. Analysis runs against a written method, with system suitability, blanks, and controls in the same sequence as the sample.
Report
Results are issued with the method and its conditions, the analytes examined, the detection or reporting limits, the system suitability results as run, and a plain statement of what the result does not establish.
Verify
Each report carries a non-sequential accession number. Retrieval is private by default. Nothing is published unless you authorize it in writing, field by field, and that authorization is revocable.
Why Arcadia
Structural commitments, not claims about volume, speed, or history
Every item below is something the laboratory controls directly and can be held to on any single report.
Independent of the materials trade
Arcadia does not manufacture, distribute, resell, or hold an interest in any material it tests. The measurement is the only product.
Methods stated, not summarized
Column chemistry, dimensions, particle and pore size; the full gradient table, flow, and column temperature; detection wavelength and integration thresholds; mass tolerance in daltons and ppm. A report you cannot reproduce the work from is not evidence.
Purity paired with identity
Area percent establishes proportion; it does not establish what was purified. The two are reported together by default, and where identity rests on accurate mass alone because no certified reference standard was available, the report says exactly that.
Presumptive and confirmatory never blurred
Screening results carry their qualifier in the result line itself, not in a footnote. Reports get cropped and reposted; a qualifier that can be cut away has failed its purpose.
Private by default
COA retrieval requires the specific accession number. Identifiers are non-sequential and high-entropy, there is no index or listing endpoint, and no seal or badge program exists to be misread as an endorsement.
Limits reported, not implied
Every non-detect carries the detection limit it was measured against, expressed in units of the sample as received rather than of the prepared extract. Not detected is not absent.
What a result establishes, and what it does not
A result reading not detected means one thing: the analytes named in the report were not detected, in the aliquot analyzed, at or above the detection limits stated, by the methods stated, in the sample as received on the date received.
It does not mean:
- That the compound is absent. It is below a detection limit, and a detection limit is not zero.
- That the batch is clean. One aliquot was analyzed. Trace contamination is frequently heterogeneous, and a result attaches to the unit tested.
- That other units, lots, or shipments are clean. Unless the laboratory performed the sampling under a documented plan, no statement about the batch is possible.
- That compounds outside the panel are absent. A targeted method cannot exclude what it did not look for. Novel analogs and unlisted adulterants are simply unexamined.
- That the material is safe, suitable, or fit for any purpose. Contaminant screening is a measurement, not a safety determination.
The same discipline applies to purity. A chromatographic purity of 99% is an area percent of UV-absorbing species eluting under one set of stated conditions. It carries no information about water, residual solvent, counterion, inorganic salts, non-chromophoric species, material that never eluted, or how much of the compound is in the vial.
Arcadia Diagnostics provides analytical testing of materials for research and quality-control purposes. Arcadia Diagnostics is not a clinical laboratory, does not test human specimens, and does not provide medical, diagnostic, or therapeutic services. Nothing on this site is medical advice.
Materials submitted to Arcadia Diagnostics are accepted as research-use-only materials. Results are not a determination of sterility, biological activity, safety, efficacy, or fitness for any use, and are not authorization or endorsement of any use of any material. Reports must not be presented as evidence of safety or of approval by any regulatory authority.
Results relate only to the items tested, in the condition received, on the date received. The laboratory was not involved in sampling unless expressly stated, and makes no representation regarding any lot, batch, or material from which the sample was drawn. Reports may not be reproduced except in full without the written approval of the laboratory.
Where procedures of USP General Chapters or ICH guidelines are referenced, testing was performed following those procedures. Those standards are drug-product standards; their acceptance criteria do not apply by law to research-use-only articles and are provided for reference only.
Get started
Discuss your testing requirements
Tell us the compound, the format and the questions you need answered. We will confirm the appropriate methods, the sample quantity required and the turnaround before anything ships.