How It Works
From quote to COA: how to submit a sample to Arcadia Diagnostics, what to send, how analysis and chain of custody work, and how to retrieve your report.
From quote to report
The path from an inquiry to a retrievable report has seven stages. Each one produces a record, and every record is available to you.
Before any of it: tell us what decision the result has to support. The right test for "is this the compound we ordered" is not the right test for "how much of it is in the vial," and the two are frequently confused. We would rather scope the work correctly at quotation than deliver a technically valid number that answers the wrong question.
The seven stages
Request a quote
Send the material description, what you believe it to be — sequence, elemental formula, or CAS number — the salt form if known, the process solvents used if known, the lot identifier, and the questions you need answered. We respond with a written scope: the tests proposed, what each one will and will not establish, minimum sample quantity, turnaround, and price.
Receive submission instructions and a submission ID
On acceptance you receive a submission ID and a submission form. The ID goes on the form, on the outer package, and on every individual container. Samples arriving without an ID cannot be reliably associated with a submission and are held pending identification.
Package and ship
Follow the packaging guidance below. You are responsible for lawful possession of the material and for compliance with all applicable shipping law and carrier requirements. Ship to the address on your submission instructions, not to any address published on this site.
Intake and chain of custody
On arrival, the package is opened against the submission form and condition on receipt is recorded before anything else happens: seal state, container integrity, temperature, quantity received, and physical description of the material. Discrepancies between what arrived and what the form declares are raised with you before analysis begins. The sample is assigned an accession number and enters custody.
Analysis
Work runs against a written method. System suitability, blanks, and controls run in the same sequence as your sample, and their results are retained and reported. Where no established method exists for the analyte, method development precedes any reportable number and is quoted separately. An anomalous result triggers a documented investigation and a confirmatory retest rather than a silent re-injection, and we contact you before proceeding when that affects scope or timing.
Report issuance
The report is reviewed by someone other than the analyst before release. It carries the method and its full conditions, the results with units, the detection or reporting limit behind every non-detect, the system suitability results as run, any deviation and its effect, and a plain statement of what the result does not establish. Where a test in your panel was not performed, the report says "not determined" rather than staying silent.
Private COA retrieval
Reports are retrievable from the COA lookup using the accession number. Accession numbers are non-sequential and high-entropy; there is no index, no listing endpoint, and no way to enumerate other clients' records. Nothing is published publicly unless you authorize it in writing, field by field, and that authorization is revocable.
What to send
Generic guidance — your written submission instructions govern
Minimum sample quantity is method-specific and is confirmed in your quote. As a rule of thumb, chromatographic purity and mass-spectrometric identity need comparatively little material, while hydrolysis-based content assays, quantitative NMR, and acid digestion for elemental analysis need materially more. Send enough for a repeat determination.
Minimum quantities are confirmed in writing at quotation, because they depend on the panel and on how much material each determination consumes. As a guide: 5 mg for RP-HPLC purity, 2 mg for LC-MS identity, 2 mg for amino acid analysis, one sealed unit for endotoxin, and 100 mg where an elemental panel needs replicates and a spike.
| Lyophilized powder or solid |
Send the sealed original container where possible. Do not subdivide unless asked to — subdividing a hygroscopic lyophilizate introduces water in under a minute of ambient handling and can measurably change a water-content result. If you must aliquot, do it into a dry, sealed vial and say so on the form. Preferred: original sealed vial
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| Solutions and formulated liquids |
State the diluent composition in full. Formulations containing a chelating buffer such as citrate or phosphate together with a nonionic surfactant such as polysorbate are known to mask spiked endotoxin over hours to days. If endotoxin testing is requested on such a matrix, raise it at quotation so a spike-and-hold study can be scoped. Declare diluent composition
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| Multiple units or lots |
Trace contamination is frequently heterogeneous, and one unit tells you about that unit. If a statement about a batch is needed, send multiple units and we will agree a documented compositing or replicate plan in advance. Without one, the report attaches to the unit tested and says so. Sampling plan agreed in advance
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| Container labeling |
Every container labeled with the submission ID, your own sample name, the lot or batch identifier, and the fill quantity. Labels must survive cold storage and handling. Unlabeled containers cannot be accepted into custody. Submission ID on every container
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| Documentation to include |
Completed submission form declaring: what the material is believed to be, salt form, known or suspected hazards, process solvents used if known, storage conditions since manufacture, the tests requested, and — if you want a conformity statement — your own acceptance criteria in writing. The laboratory does not set acceptance criteria for research materials. Submission form required
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| Packaging |
Primary container sealed, secondary containment against leakage, and enough cushioning that glass survives courier handling. Desiccant for hygroscopic solids. Insulated packaging with coolant where the material requires cold chain, with the required storage condition stated on the form. Absorbent material sufficient for the full liquid volume. Secondary containment required
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| Retain a retention sample |
Keep a portion of the same unit under your own storage. If a result is unexpected, having material that never left your control is the fastest route to distinguishing a shipping or handling effect from a material property. Recommended
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What we cannot accept
A published intake boundary is a courtesy to prospective clients and a control for the laboratory. The following are outside scope:
- Human biological specimens of any kind — urine, blood, serum, saliva, hair, tissue. Arcadia tests materials, not people. Accepting a single human specimen for a health-related question would place the laboratory inside a regulatory framework that does not otherwise apply to it.
- Any request for interpretation of a result for human or animal use — dosing, administration, suitability for consumption, or a safety opinion. We decline these in writing and do not make exceptions.
- Controlled substances, except as expressly pre-authorized in writing before shipment. By submitting a sample you represent and warrant that you possess the material lawfully and that submission and shipment comply with all applicable federal, state, and local law and carrier requirements.
Controlled substances, analogs, and listed chemicals. Arcadia Diagnostics is not registered with the DEA, holds no state controlled-substance license, and does not accept controlled substances, controlled-substance analogs, or listed chemicals of any schedule. Adulterant screening is performed on non-controlled research materials, to establish whether such a substance is present as a contaminant. Mailing a controlled substance is a federal offense for the sender.
The full sample-intake policy is issued with the quotation and forms part of the services agreement. It sets out the excluded categories above, the declaration required at submission, and what happens when a delivered sample does not conform to what was agreed — quarantine, written notice to you, and return at your cost or disposal on your instruction.
Turnaround
Typical ranges for each technique, in business days from sample receipt
The ranges below are general industry ranges for the technique, offered so you can plan. They are not commitments. Your quote carries the committed turnaround for your specific work.
These are the turnarounds we commit to, counted in business days from receipt of a conforming sample rather than from the date you ship. Expedited service is available on most determinations and is confirmed at quotation.
| RP-HPLC / UPLC purity, established method |
2–3 business days Standard · 24 h expedited
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| LC-MS intact identity, established method |
2–3 business days Standard · 24 h expedited
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| Combined purity and identity package |
3 business days Standard · 24–48 h expedited
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| Karl Fischer water content |
2 business days Standard
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| Counterion by ion chromatography |
3 business days Standard
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| Residual solvents by headspace GC |
3 business days Standard
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| Amino acid analysis for net peptide content |
4–5 business days. The 20–24 hour acid hydrolysis sits on the critical path and cannot be expedited; multi-timepoint hydrolysis, where the peptide contains residues that degrade or release slowly, adds a further two days. Hard physical floor
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| MS/MS sequence confirmation |
4–5 business days Standard
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| Bacterial endotoxin, established method |
3 business days Standard · 24 h expedited
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| Elemental impurities, ICH Q3D Class 1 + 2A |
4–5 business days. The full 24-element panel runs 5–7 business days. Standard · 48 h expedited
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| Targeted adulterant screen |
2–3 business days. The untargeted LC-HRMS screen runs 4–5 business days. Standard · 24 h expedited
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| qNMR absolute assay |
5–7 business days Standard
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| Method development for a novel analyte |
10–20 business days, additional to the analysis itself Quoted per project
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Common questions
Common questions
No, not unless you authorize it. Client information is confidential by default. Public display of any COA field requires per-client written authorization that names exactly which fields may be shown, and that authorization is revocable. We do not publish retroactively and we do not publish by default.
The usual causes are: no established method exists for the analyte, so scouting and optimization must come first; no reference standard is available, so identity has to be built from orthogonal evidence; poor solubility or unstable solutions, requiring diluent screening before quantitation is meaningful; co-elution discovered mid-analysis, requiring an orthogonal method; or an anomalous result triggering a documented investigation. We raise these when they arise, not at delivery.
No. Contaminant screening and purity analysis are measurements, not safety determinations. No analytical result on one aliquot supports a conclusion about a batch, and none supports a conclusion about a person. We report what was measured with its limits stated, and the decision that follows is yours.
Only against acceptance criteria you supply and own, labeled as such on the report, with a documented decision rule covering measurement uncertainty. The report states that the laboratory did not establish those criteria and expresses no opinion on their adequacy for any purpose. We do not publish a house standard for research materials.
Reports may not be reproduced except in full without written approval. Arcadia's name, marks, and reports may not be used to imply endorsement, certification, or approval of any product. A report attaches to the sample tested and may not be presented as applying to any other lot, unit, or shipment. There is no verification badge or seal program, by design.
Remaining material is stored under the conditions recorded at intake, for a defined retention period, after which it is disposed of or returned according to the disposition agreed at submission. Remaining sample is held for 30 days after the report is issued, under the storage conditions recorded at intake. Within that window it can be returned at your cost; after it, material is disposed of through a licensed chemical waste contractor. Raw data files and the report itself are retained for five years.
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.
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.
Only the analytes named in a report were tested for. Compounds outside the reported panel, including novel or emerging substances, were not examined and cannot be excluded by the analysis. "Not detected" means the named analyte was not observed at or above the stated detection limit in the aliquot analyzed; it does not mean the analyte is absent. Detection limits are method-, analyte-, and matrix-specific.
Testing services are provided without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The client is solely responsible for its use of, and any reliance on, laboratory reports, and for all representations it makes to third parties. Liability for any analysis is limited to the fee paid for that analysis. The full terms, including indemnity and governing law, are set out in our Terms of Service.
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.