PEPTIDE CORPUS

Vehicle / Diluent

Acetic Acid Solution

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A dilute solution of acetic acid in water, used to dissolve peptides that will not go into solution at neutral pH. Lowering the pH changes the charge on parts of the molecule and helps it come apart from itself. The strength is not implied by the name and is normally stated as a percentage or a molarity, which varies widely between protocols.

Why it matters here

Where a record names an acidic vehicle, that is usually a solubility fact about the molecule rather than a preference. It also bears on a beyond-use date, because an acidic vehicle is not a preservative and low pH is its own stability variable.

What it is not

Do not confuse the vehicle with the salt form of the powder. Many synthetic peptides are supplied as an acetate or trifluoroacetate salt, which is a property of the solid sitting in the vial and is not the same thing as dissolving it in acetic acid.

Also called

Dilute acetic acid is the same vehicle described loosely, with the strength left unstated. It is not culinary vinegar, which is acetic acid plus everything else in the bottle.

Compounds carrying this term

None on file yet. This term is in the controlled vocabulary but no compound record currently uses it — which is a statement about our coverage, not about the term.

See also