They sell reference standards now with a proprietary HPLC proof of purity? A nonchromatography to boot? Tom and juddc were very polite indeed.
Without wishing to prejudge/justify the initial chromatogram
I think I should comment a little on the above as a small research customer, rather than as a large business purchasing process chemicals to a purchasing specification..
In my experience, obtaining method details for chemicals is often like trying to obtain hens teeth. Even the large companies like Merck would not provide their test method details on chemical CoAs for many research chemicals - NDAs don't evn come into the picture.
If they state compliance to a published compendial method or standard, they refer you to that, but for research chemicals no methodology information was forthcoming .
I've even seen transcribed results on CoAs of chemicals for cGMP production that don't acknowledge the original testing organisation and CoA. Unless that supplier was audited, the purchaser would not know they hadn't tested the product.
With the rise of Asian competition, many producers of small quantities of fine chemicals are very unwilling to disclose full details of methods they have spent considerable time developing, unless there is some issue with product not meeting specification and you are a large valued customer. Typically, I just go to another supplier - but I may be still be getting the same source of chemicals - just different packaging.
I've even been offered test method documents from potential customers that that clearly were provided by my competitors under a NDA, but the prospective client was only interested in lowering the chemical cost. It would be very difficult to prove a method had been disclosed, even if you saw it on a competitor's CoA.
If you want detailed methods, you need to choose suppliers who are prepared to release such information, and many of those companies charge higher prices for their products - to cover such costs. Strangely, analysts expect to get paid.
The reference chemical market has been greatly impacted by the rise of small synthesis and natural product purification facilities in Asia, and a large number of chemical organisations are probably following the infamous "pfs" policy that enabled Sigma to capture such a large chunk of the biochemicals market.
Incidently, did the supplier of the above image even say it was from an HPLC?. It's unlikely to be from an Iatroscan ( run time is too long ), but perhaps from a low resolution lipid system of some sort.
I love having only half the story - it facilitates entertaining speculation.
Please keep having fun,
Bruce Hamilton
