NAD+ Testing & Verification
Independent, third-party analysis of mail-in NAD+ samples by RP-HPLC-UV — confirming identity, chromatographic purity, and the actual NAD+ content per vial or per milliliter against a certified reference standard.
What NAD+ is
NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is a nucleotide coenzyme, not a peptide — it is a dinucleotide built from an adenine nucleotide and a nicotinamide nucleotide joined through a pyrophosphate bridge. We list it here because it is on our test menu alongside the peptides. Analytically, its adenine ring gives it strong UV absorbance with a maximum near 260 nm, so detection and quantitation are performed there rather than at the 214 nm wavelength used for peptide bonds. NAD+ is chemically fragile in solution and hygroscopic as a powder: it hydrolyzes and degrades toward nicotinamide, NMN, ADP-ribose, and related products, and it readily picks up water weight. It is sold on the research and wellness market as lyophilized powder or pre-mixed liquid, often in large labeled quantities (500 mg or more per vial), and none of that labeling carries an independent guarantee.
Why get your NAD+ independently tested
- Degradation is the purity story: NAD+ in solution (and poorly stored powder) breaks down toward nicotinamide, NMN, ADP-ribose, and related products, each of which appears as its own chromatographic peak. Area-percent purity against a certified NAD+ standard shows how much of the material is still intact NAD+ versus its breakdown ladder — a check that matters more for NAD+ than for most compounds on our menu.
- Water weight inflating label mass: NAD+ powder is hygroscopic, so gross vial weight can include a meaningful fraction of absorbed water. An assay against a certified reference standard reports the actual NAD+ content, separating true active from moisture and excipient mass.
- Big labels, big gaps: NAD+ is commonly sold at 500 mg or 1,000 mg per vial, so even a modest percentage shortfall is a large absolute (and dollar) discrepancy. Measured content per vial versus the label puts a number on that gap.
- Powder vs. pre-mixed liquid: NAD+ circulates both as lyophilized powder and as ready-to-use liquid, and a liquid product has been degrading since the day it was compounded. We report content per vial for powders and per milliliter for liquids, so the result maps directly onto what the label claims.
What we measure on NAD+
Each NAD+ sample is analyzed by reversed-phase HPLC with UV/diode-array detection, quantified at 260 nm where the adenine chromophore absorbs, against a certified NAD+ reference standard. Because NAD+ is a coenzyme rather than a peptide, the certificate reports identity (retention-time and UV-spectral match to the reference), chromatographic purity as area percent of the NAD+ peak — with degradation products such as nicotinamide appearing as separate peaks — and assay / active content: the amount of NAD+ present, reported per vial for powders or per milliliter for liquids, rather than a net-peptide figure.
Every result is issued as a certificate of analysis you — or anyone you forward it to — can verify cryptographically. Reporting identity, purity, and milligram content is the point: a vial can be pure and still underfilled, so we report all three. More on purity vs. net-peptide content and how to read a peptide COA.
Our scope — stated plainly
Testing is RP-HPLC-UV against a certified NAD+ reference standard, with detection at the compound's 260 nm absorbance rather than the 214 nm used for peptides. Results are reported as identity, chromatographic purity, and assay / active content (not net-peptide). KMD Analytical is an independent laboratory; we do not perform mass spectrometry, sterility, endotoxin, heavy-metal, or residual-solvent testing.
KMD is an independent RP-HPLC-UV lab. We do not run LC-MS / mass-spec, sterility, endotoxin, or heavy-metal testing. If your job needs a capability we don't have, we'll say so.
NAD+ testing — FAQ
NAD+ isn't a peptide — why is it on a peptide testing menu?
Correct, it is a nucleotide coenzyme. It is on our menu because the same RP-HPLC-UV workflow applies cleanly: identity by retention-time and UV-spectral match against a certified standard, purity as area percent, and quantitation of actual content. The only practical difference is that we detect and quantify it at 260 nm, where its adenine ring absorbs strongly, and report 'assay / active content' instead of net-peptide.
My NAD+ came pre-mixed as a liquid — can you test it, and what will the result look like?
Yes. For a liquid we report NAD+ content per milliliter, which you can compare against the labeled concentration; for a powder we report content per vial. Liquids are worth testing precisely because NAD+ degrades in solution — the chromatogram will also show how much has already converted to breakdown products like nicotinamide.
If purity comes back below 100%, what is the rest likely to be?
For NAD+ the remainder is most often its own degradation products — nicotinamide, NMN, ADP-ribose, and related species — which show up as separate peaks in the chromatogram. The certificate reports the area percent of the intact NAD+ peak; it identifies what the sample is chromatographically but does not chemically confirm each impurity peak, and it says nothing about sterility or safety.
The vial says 500 mg. Will your test tell me if that's real?
It tells you the milligrams of NAD+ we actually measure in the vial you send, against a certified reference standard, which you can compare with the label. Because NAD+ powder is hygroscopic and often carries water and excipient weight, measured active content can differ meaningfully from the gross powder mass — and at 500 mg-plus label sizes, percentage gaps translate into real money.
Other peptides we test
Retatrutide · Cagrilintide · Tesamorelin · BPC-157 · see the full panel.