BPC-157 and TB-500: two research peptides, how they are supplied, what a COA shows

"BPC-157 and TB-500" is one of the most typed searches in this category, and the wording suggests a single item. It is not.

BPC-157 and TB-500 are two different synthetic peptides, made in separate syntheses and filled in separate vials.

A laboratory that orders both receives two vials and two labels, each naming its compound and its quantity in mg.

BPC-157 and TB-500 also come together with GHK-Cu and KPV in one 80 mg vial: KLOW peptide, compared with GLOW and Wolverine in KLOW vs GLOW vs Wolverine.

• BPC-157: a 15-residue peptide, sequence Gly-Glu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Ala-Asp-Asp-Ala-Gly-Leu-Val (GEPPPGKP­ADDAGLV), about 1,419 Da, usually supplied as the acetate salt. Details in the BPC-157 buying guide.
• TB-500: a trade name, not a sequence: in this catalog the acetylated heptapeptide Ac-Leu-Lys-Lys-Thr-Glu-Thr-Gln (Ac-LKKTETQ, residues 17 to 23 of thymosin β4), 889.0 g/mol, supplied as the acetate salt; some vendors sell full-length synthetic thymosin β4 (43 amino acids, about 4,963 Da) under the same name. The mass on a laboratory report identifies which one a vial holds. Details in the TB-500 buying guide and the TB-500 data sheet.

Both are sold in the catalog as research reagents: sealed, labeled vials of lyophilized powder.

A vial holding the two freeze-dried together is a different product; it has its own guide, the wolverine peptide. This page compares the two compounds, BPC-157 vs TB-500, one vial each. Research use only.

Not for human or veterinary use.

Further reading: thymosin alpha-1, not the same thymosin as TB-500 and ARA-290 (cibinetide) data sheet.

The two powders look identical in the vial.

What tells them apart is the label of each vial, which names the compound and its mass in mg, and, on a laboratory report, the compound identified and the quantity measured in mg (for TB-500, the heptapeptide Ac-LKKTETQ, 889.0 g/mol, or full-length thymosin β4, about 4,963 Da, if that is what a listing sells).

Because the two compounds are so often ordered in the same parcel, some listings offer one "COA" for the pair.

That document cannot exist: a report describes one lot of one compound. What to look for on a laboratory report for either compound, from any supplier:

• A named independent laboratory and a test number that can be looked up on the lab's site.
• The lot number of each certificate, with a task number and verification key the laboratory confirms: BPC-157 and TB-500 will have different lot numbers.
• HPLC purity as a measured percentage, not a "≥ 98 %" typed in a table.
• An independent laboratory report that names the compound found (identity), gives the quantity measured in mg and the purity in %, with a task number and key verifiable on the laboratory's website. A mass spectrum or a printed chromatogram is an extra some labs sell.
• The test date, recent enough to describe a lot that is still in stock.
• A photograph of the tested vial wearing the supplier's own label.

How to read each of those fields, and what a re-used or edited certificate looks like, is covered in how to read a peptide COA.

The two are frequently ordered together, and the reason is logistical rather than chemical: they come from the same kind of supplier, ship under the same storage conditions, and are documented the same way.

Ordering both from one source means one parcel, one set of storage rules, and two separate vials, each in its own size, that are easy to tell apart.

What to expect from a supplier when both are in the same order:

• Labels that state the compound and the net quantity in mg: never a generic "peptide" label.
• The same sealed-vial storage line for both (−20 °C, dark, dry), so the parcel is stored as one.
• Vials packed so that they cannot be mixed up: distinct labels, ideally distinct cap colors.

A listing that sells the pair as a bundle should still name each compound and its mass in mg on its own label.

Both powders share the catalog's storage line for lyophilized peptides:

• Temperature: −20 °C for long-term storage, in the sealed vial, away from light and moisture.
• Light and moisture: keep the vials sealed, in their box, and let a cold vial reach room temperature before it leaves its bag.
• Shelf life: 24 months from the fill date for a sealed vial stored as above.

Ambient shipping for a few days does not degrade either powder, which is why neither ships with cold packs. The full rules, compound by compound, are in lyophilized peptides: storage and shelf life.

The checks are the same as for any research peptide, applied twice:

1. Clear lab documentation. Before buying from any supplier, check what its laboratory reports cover: which compound, which size, which lot.
2. Quantity in mg printed on each vial's label.
3. Domestic, tracked shipping in a few days.
4. A product page that describes the reagent only (composition, purity documentation, storage) with "research use only" stated plainly. A supplier that publishes usage content is a supplier that is easy to shut down while an order is in transit.
5. A price read per mg, for each size, so the two vials can be compared directly.

The wider checklist (payment, packaging, what happens if a parcel is stopped) is in where to buy research peptides in Europe. The pair also exists with 50 mg of GHK-Cu added, in one vial, as the GLOW blend.

Each compound is priced per vial, in three sizes, and the price per milligram is shown next to each size in the live catalog tables.

TB-500 costs more per milligram than BPC-157 (the acetylated heptapeptide is the more expensive synthesis per milligram) so the two are never priced as a pair.

The table at the top of this page is read from the catalog for BPC-157; the TB-500 table is on its own guide and product page.

See BPC-157 in the catalog →
See TB-500 in the catalog →

Further reading: the BPC-157 / TB-500 blend vial.

A certificate's mass line is the fastest way to know which compound a vial holds. BPC-157 and TB-500 give signals far apart:

Two traps are worth knowing.

First, the doubly charged ion of BPC-157 (about 710) sits in the same region as small peptides, so a spectrum is read as a whole, not by one peak.

Second, "TB-500" can mean the acetylated fragment above or full-length thymosin β4 (about 4,963 Da): the mass tells them apart at once.

BPC-157 (Gly-Glu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Ala-Asp-Asp-Ala-Gly-Leu-Val) has four prolines, three of them in a row, and three acidic residues (one glutamic acid, two aspartic acids) against a single lysine.

At neutral pH it carries a net negative charge. The Pro-Pro-Pro stretch makes the chain rigid at that point.

TB-500 (Ac-Leu-Lys-Lys-Thr-Glu-Thr-Gln) is the opposite: two lysines against one glutamic acid, so a net positive charge, and an acetylated N-terminus. It is half the length and about 63 % of the mass of BPC-157.

These differences have practical consequences in the lab.

The two do not elute at the same point of an HPLC gradient, they do not ionise the same way in a mass spectrometer, and they are weighed against different molar masses: 10 mg of BPC-157 is about 7.0 µmol, 10 mg of TB-500 about 11.2 µmol.

A research series that compares them in molar terms has to start from these figures, not from the milligrams on the label.

The two compounds are sold in two forms: separate vials (one BPC-157, one TB-500) or one vial holding both, freeze-dried together. The choice changes how each compound is identified and how the lab can work.

Separate vials keep each compound traceable on its own; a blend saves a step but ties the two together.

The blended product is described in the wolverine peptide blend, with what its two-peak certificate must show. Research use only. Not for human or veterinary use.

• Is TB-500 a fragment of BPC-157? No. BPC-157 is a 15-residue sequence described as a partial sequence of a gastric protein; TB-500 is a fragment of thymosin β4. The two share no sequence.
• Why is TB-500 dearer per milligram? The acetylated heptapeptide costs more to make per milligram; the catalog price per mg reflects it for each size.
• Can one certificate cover both? Only for a blended vial, and then it must show two peaks with two masses. For two separate vials, each report describes one lot of one compound.
• Are the storage rules the same? Yes: sealed, freezer, dark and dry, for both lyophilized powders.