HCG 1000IU

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a gonadotropin glycoprotein hormone, studied extensively in reproductive-endocrinology and hormone-signalling research. It is supplied by NMChem as a research reference material.

Structure, and why it is specified in IU

hCG is a heterodimer: an alpha subunit shared with LH, FSH and TSH, paired non-covalently with a beta subunit that gives the molecule its specificity. Both subunits are glycosylated, and the carbohydrate is heterogeneous — different molecules in the same preparation carry different glycan structures and therefore different masses.

That heterogeneity is the reason potency is expressed in international units rather than by mass. A glycoprotein of this kind does not produce the single sharp molecular ion that a synthetic peptide does; it produces a distribution. Reading a Certificate of Analysis for a glycoprotein is therefore a different exercise from reading one for a 10-residue synthetic peptide, and a purity figure means something correspondingly different — what HPLC purity actually means covers why the number is method-dependent, and identity vs purity covers what mass confirmation can and cannot establish.

Presentation

1000 IU lyophilised powder, SKU HCG1000. Reconstitution solvent supplied separately — see bacteriostatic water.

Documentation

A Certificate of Analysis is produced per batch and is available on request against the lot number printed on the vial. If you have not worked with this kind of report before, how to read a Certificate of Analysis walks through each section, and identity vs purity explains why the two headline numbers answer different questions.

Handling

Supplied lyophilised. Allow the sealed vial to reach room temperature before opening so atmospheric moisture does not condense onto cold glass, add solvent slowly down the vial wall rather than directly onto the cake, and dissolve without vortexing. Store the dry material at −20 °C, protected from light; aliquot reconstituted stock before freezing so no portion is thawed more than once. Storage and stability covers the degradation routes these steps are guarding against, and molar mass and solution concentration covers the arithmetic — including why the nominal vial weight is not the mass of peptide present. Practical procedure is in the reconstitution guide.

UK status. Chorionic gonadotropin is a prescription-only medicine in the UK. This listing is a research reference material for in-vitro laboratory use only. See are peptides legal in the UK? and the compliance page.

Research use only. Supplied for in-vitro research and laboratory use. Not for human or veterinary use, not a medicine, and not for food or cosmetic application. See the compliance page for the framework NMChem operates under.