Amino Axiom is a free research information and tracking platform: a compound library, a vendor directory, a glossary, a comparison tool, and a set of per-compound price tables. The price comparison feature is the last of these. For each tracked compound, it lists the current published price from every vendor that Amino Axiom monitors, presented side by side in one table. The live tables are at Amino Axiom's price comparison pages, and the platform's homepage is aminoaxiom.com.
The feature exists because research materials in the growth-factor and receptor-binding space are listed by dozens of suppliers, in different vial sizes, at different purity specifications, with different documentation practices. Reading those listings one storefront at a time is slow and easy to get wrong. A single table that normalizes what each vendor publishes makes the comparison a matter of reading rows rather than collecting browser tabs. This FAQ walks through what the tables show and how a researcher in the growth-factor lane might read them. It does not describe any use of the materials, only how the listings are organized.
What does a per-compound price table actually show?
Each compound has its own table. The rows are vendors; the columns are the attributes each vendor publishes for that compound: the listed size, the listed price, and the price expressed per unit of material so that a 2 mg listing and a 10 mg listing can be put on the same footing. The per-unit figure is simply the listed price divided by the listed quantity, which is arithmetic rather than a judgment about quality. Where a vendor lists several sizes, each size appears as its own entry.
The tables are live, meaning the figures reflect what vendors currently publish rather than a snapshot from a fixed date. That matters for a category where list prices move, and it is the reason a researcher planning a purchase for an assay series will usually want the current table rather than a figure remembered from an earlier project. The tables do not assert anything about a vendor's product beyond the number on the vendor's own listing.
How would a researcher read the table for a ligand-trap protein like Follistatin?
Follistatin is a useful first example because it is not a typical small synthetic peptide. It is a secreted glycoprotein studied as a ligand trap for activin and GDF-8 within the TGF-β superfamily, and the material is described in terms of a recombinant form of roughly 37,000 to 40,000 Da and a synthetic truncated form of roughly 3,780 Da. The Amino Kinetics catalog lists the compound under CAS number 117628-82-7 at 99%+ purity, stored at −20°C in lyophilized form.
Because the form matters, the first thing a researcher reads in a Follistatin price table is the form description, not the price. Two rows that look comparable on price may describe different molecular entities, one recombinant full-length and one truncated, and a binding-kinetics experiment designed around one cannot simply be repeated with the other. The price table is a starting point for narrowing candidates. The specification on each vendor's own listing is what decides whether two rows are actually comparable.
A second reading habit is to check the size column against the experimental design. A study built around a concentration series in a reporter cell line consumes material in a pattern very different from a single-point binding check, and a table that shows per-unit price across several sizes makes the trade-off between pack size and unit price visible. Neither choice is wrong in the abstract; the table simply puts the numbers next to each other.
How does the table help when comparing analogs such as IGF-1 LR3?
IGF-1 LR3 is a modified analog of insulin-like growth factor 1, studied for its reduced affinity for IGF binding proteins and its engagement of the IGF-1 receptor. The Amino Kinetics catalog lists it under CAS number 946870-92-4 with a molecular weight of 9117.5 g/mol and the formula C400H625N111O115S9. In receptor-binding work it is often discussed alongside native IGF-1, and the two are different compounds with different listings.
This is where the price comparison tables and the compound library work together. The library entry gives the identifying facts for the analog, while the price table gives the vendor listings. A researcher checking a row can compare the vendor's stated molecular weight against the library value as a basic sanity check: a listing whose stated mass is far from the expected figure for the analog deserves a closer look at what is actually being sold. The price table does not perform that check automatically, but placing the two sources next to each other makes the discrepancy easy to spot.
What about shorter, modified peptides such as PEG-MGF?
PEG-MGF illustrates a different reading problem. The Amino Kinetics catalog lists a core peptide molecular weight of 2867.2 g/mol with the formula C121H200N42O39 and CAS number 108174-48-7, and notes that the effective mass varies with the PEG chain. A modified compound of this kind can be listed by vendors with very different descriptions of the PEG component, so the headline mass on one row may not mean the same thing as the headline mass on another.
For a researcher, the practical consequence is that a price table for a PEGylated or otherwise modified compound should be read with the description column open. The per-unit price calculation assumes that the listed quantity refers to the same thing in each row. When it does not, the per-unit figure is still arithmetically correct but is no longer a like-for-like comparison. Flagging that distinction before a purchasing decision is simply careful reading.
Does a lower listed price mean the material is equivalent?
No, and the tables are not designed to suggest otherwise. A price table reports what vendors list. It does not verify purity, identity, or documentation, and a lower figure in a row says nothing on its own about the material behind it. Researchers working in receptor-binding assays are generally sensitive to batch-level variables: purity, residual counter-ions, aggregation state for larger proteins, and the presence of analytical documentation. Those variables are properties of the specific lot and the vendor's testing, and they are assessed from the documentation, not from the price.
The sensible way to use the comparison is as a first filter. It identifies which vendors list a given compound at all, in which sizes, and at what published price. The second step, reading each shortlisted vendor's specification and documentation, is where equivalence is actually judged. Amino Axiom's vendor directory and status tracker are separate pages designed for that second step, and they sit alongside the price tables within the same platform.
How often should a researcher re-check a price table?
For a one-off purchase, once, at the time of ordering. For a longer program, such as a multi-month series of binding or reporter-gene experiments that will draw on the same material repeatedly, it is reasonable to revisit the table when planning each new batch of work, because the tables are live and list prices can change between planning cycles. A researcher keeping a record of the figures used for budgeting can note the date of each reading, since the table itself reflects the present state and not an archive.
It is also worth re-reading the compound description at each revisit. Catalog entries are occasionally refined, and a compound that was listed in one form may be listed in another. The identifying values, CAS number, molecular weight, and formula, are the anchors that do not change from one reading to the next, and they are the quickest way to confirm that a row still refers to the compound the experiment was designed around.
Where do the Amino Kinetics listings fit?
Amino Kinetics is one of the vendors a researcher may encounter in these tables, supplying growth-factor and receptor-binding materials in lyophilized form with analytical documentation available for each batch. Specifications, sizes, and pricing for the compounds discussed above are on their respective product pages, and the full research catalog is at all compounds. The same facts appear on the product pages that appear in this article, and a researcher is encouraged to compare any vendor's listing, including this one, against the library entry and the documentation before drawing conclusions.
This article is provided for research and informational purposes only. The compounds discussed are research chemicals intended for laboratory use only. They are not drugs, supplements, or food, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Amino Kinetics does not sell products intended for human or animal use. Amino Axiom is an independent information platform, and its content does not constitute guidance on the use of any material. Researchers are responsible for compliance with all applicable local, state, and federal regulations governing the purchase and use of research materials.
