Accepted answer
The short version: powder in the freezer or fridge, reconstituted in the fridge for weeks, and never anything on a windowsill.
Keep vials in their original carton or in an opaque box. Light exposure matters for tryptophan-containing sequences and for anything with a chromophore, and a closed box is free.
Degradation pathway by condition
| Pathway | Dominant when | Detected by |
|---|
| Deamidation | Solution, neutral to alkaline pH | RP-HPLC, +1 Da on MS |
| Oxidation | Light, trace metals, peroxides | RP-HPLC, +16 Da on MS |
| Hydrolysis | Solution, extremes of pH | RP-HPLC, fragment masses |
| Aggregation | Agitation, interfaces, high concentration | SEC, visual haze; often invisible on RP-HPLC |
| Freeze-concentration damage | Freeze-thaw of buffered solution | SEC, loss of recovered content |
Let a refrigerated or frozen vial equilibrate to room temperature before opening, so humid air does not condense water onto a cold cake.
Two-to-eight-degree refrigeration and minus-twenty freezing are the standard storage conditions for lyophilised peptides in supplier documentation across the market.
The caveat is that storage conditions preserve what you have and cannot improve it.
Dry, cold, dark, still. Four words and you have the answer.