Reputation is a prior. An independent result on your own vial is the evidence.
The single most informative free test is asking for the certificate of the lot they intend to ship and then confirming, on arrival, that the code on the glass matches it. A supplier who can do that has a traceability system; one who cannot does not.
The pre-order sequence: request a lot-specific certificate for the exact line, check that it names a lot code rather than a batch family, check that it carries the column, gradient and detection wavelength, and check the analysis date is recent relative to the lot.
Aggregate community ratings, including the one on this site, are opinion averages rather than measurements and should carry less weight than a single result on your own lot.
Testing narrows uncertainty. It does not turn research-grade material into something with release testing behind it.
Small first order, independent submission, then scale. In that order.
8Thank you — the checklist format makes this actionable rather than merely correct. – seamus_brady 10 months ago 7The cost-per-milligram-of-measured-content correction reversed my own spreadsheet. – j_wierzbicki 8 months ago add a comment