PEPTIDE SYNTHESIS COSTS

The cost of peptide synthesis is related to the following:

• Fmoc amino acids, coupling reagents and solventsare approximately 30-35% of the total cost;
• Purification and laborcosts amount to 65-70% of the total cost.

Therefore,the raw material cost is approximately 1/3 the total cost of peptide synthesis.

Using the most inexpensive reagents, solvents, and amino acids in peptide synthesis results in the most expensive cost of peptide synthesis. The least expensive amino acids are also the lowest quality amino acids.

The most expensive peptide to produce is actually the one when the lowest quality of amino acids and reagents is used.Some scientists use low quality amino acids because they are cheaper than higher quality amino acids. Therefore, the cheaper cost of lower quality reagents for peptide synthesis is actually the most expensive cost of peptide production.

The cost of producing high purity peptides is not expensive if the synthesis is begun using high purity amino acids.To reduce the cost of peptide synthesis,some scientists have chosen to use lower purity, cheaper protected amino acids and reagents.Although this may seem a reasonable approach, it actually is more expensive for a 20-residue amino acid long peptide. Starting with lower quality raw material (98% purity) reduces the quality and the quantity of peptide by 40% if every coupling is 100% successful while the synthesis using higher quality raw material (99.7%)only loses 6%, provides a substantially higher yield, is easier to purify and results in a lower loss of peptide during purification.

Therefore, the use of high purity amino acids is essential in the synthesis of any peptide, especially long peptides. Table 1 compares the theoretical purity of peptides prepared utilizing 99.7% pure, 99% pure, and 98% pure amino acids. As the table illustrates, the purity of a 20-residue peptide prepared with 99.7% pure amino acids would have a maximum expected purity of approximately 97% while a peptide prepared with 98% pure amino acids would only be approximately 81% pure.

Thus, even if the 98% pure amino acids are 30-50% less expensive than the 99.7% pure amino acids, it would cost more to produce the same amount of final peptide.

This does not even include purification costs which is 65 -70% of the total cost.One saves substantial money by starting with higher purity crude peptides to purify.This results in less labor costs and less solvent usage; and less waste is generated which further reduces the amount of amino acid and reagent usage. If one has less crude peptide, more peptide needs to be produced in order to obtain a given quantity of purified peptide.

Therefore, using lower cost and/or lower purity standard amino acids and reagents is actually more expensive than using higher priced,high purity amino acids.

It is our mission at AAPPTec to always provide high quality amino acids and reagents with competitive pricing for production of high quality crude peptides.

MAXIMUM THEORETICAL PURITY OF SYNTHESIZED PEPTIDE

Table 1 – Use of 99.7% vs. 99% Amino Acids vs. 98% Pure Amino Acids