What's on the label is the measured result — net peptide mass, not gross powder weight, plus RP-HPLC purity, on a lot-numbered COA for every batch.
Net peptide mass and RP-HPLC purity — a lot-numbered COA for every batch.
Net peptide mass + HPLC purity, per lot.
PCAC will review 7 peptides for the 503A bulks list, BPC-157, KPV, TB-500, MOTS-c, Emideltide, Semax, Epitalon. Read our briefing →
PCAC will review 7 peptides for the 503A bulks list. Read →
FDA PCAC reviews 7 peptides in July. Read →
Fatty-acid-transport nutrient
Overview
L-Carnitine is a quaternary ammonium compound (3-hydroxy-4-trimethylammoniobutanoate) endogenously synthesized from lysine and methionine, with the essential biological role of transporting long-chain fatty acids across the inner mitochondrial membrane via the carnitine-palmitoyltransferase (CPT) system. Without L-Carnitine, the inner mitochondrial membrane is impermeable to long-chain acyl-CoAs, so beta-oxidation of long-chain fatty acids cannot proceed. The molecule is therefore central to fatty-acid energy metabolism and is studied in muscle-energetics, fatty-acid-oxidation, and metabolic-support research contexts. L-Carnitine is also widely used in med-spa lipotropic-injection workflows, often co-administered with B-vitamins and other lipotropic factors. PeptideXpo supplies L-Carnitine in lyophilized powder and aqueous-solution formats at ≥99.0% HPLC purity. The aqueous solution formats (600 mg and 1200 mg) are pre-prepared for direct use in med-spa and compounding workflows. As a small molecule with established commercial availability, L-Carnitine is generally not where research projects encounter supplier-quality issues, the analytical packet covers RP-HPLC, identity, and residual-solvent profiling per pharmacopeia conventions.
Who buys this, and why
Most buyers in this category are 503A and 503B compounding pharmacies fulfilling metabolic and weight-management protocols, plus research labs investigating GLP-1 / GIP / GCG receptor pharmacology. The procurement decision usually hinges on three things: documented purity at scale, a regulatory team that can respond on destination-market questions in writing, and the ability to supply consistent counter-ion form (acetate by default) across recurring orders.
Primary buyer fit: 503A / 503B compounding pharmacies, medical aesthetic clinics and med spas, and regional distributors and re-sellers.
Specifications
Documentation available on request
Regulatory note
Sold as a bulk active for research and for compounding-pharmacy formulation in jurisdictions where local regulations permit. Not a finished dosage form and not labeled for direct human administration as shipped. The GLP-1 class is on active regulatory watchlists in several major markets, buyers are responsible for verifying current scheduling and compounding eligibility for the destination at the time of dispense.
Frequently asked questions
All three are L-Carnitine in different chemical forms that affect handling and bioavailability rather than core biological activity. L-Carnitine (the free base) is the primary form for IV-infusion compounding pharmacy and med-spa workflows where direct administration of the active carnitine ion is preferred. Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALCAR) adds an acetyl group to the carnitine nitrogen, producing a molecule that crosses the blood-brain barrier more readily, the form most commonly studied in cognitive and neurological research. L-Carnitine L-Tartrate is a co-crystal of carnitine with tartaric acid, used primarily in oral-supplement formulations because of better solid-state stability than the hygroscopic free base. PeptideXpo supplies the free-base form by default; ALCAR and L-Tartrate forms are available on request.
The combination is the classic 'MIC + B' lipotropic-injection formula (sometimes called Lipo-C or 'fat-burner shot'). L-Carnitine handles the fatty-acid transport step into mitochondria for beta-oxidation; methionine, inositol, and choline support upstream hepatic fat-transport and methylation reactions; the B-vitamins (especially B-12) support the cofactor pools the rest of the components depend on. The components are not pharmacological fat-burners, they support normal fat-metabolism pathways at higher-than-dietary doses. Brands incorporating L-Carnitine into combination products should source the Lipo-C blend SKU for the integrated formulation or order individual components and prepare in-house.
Clinical IV L-Carnitine for FDA-approved indications (primary carnitine deficiency, secondary deficiency in dialysis patients) is dosed at 50 mg/kg as a slow IV bolus, repeated every 3-4 hours up to a maximum of 300 mg/kg/day. The infusion rate is conservative because rapid IV L-Carnitine administration can produce transient hypotension and nausea, slow push over 2-3 minutes is the recommended pace. Med-spa lipotropic-injection protocols typically use much lower doses (200-1000 mg per session, IM rather than IV) and don't aim for the clinical concentration ranges relevant to the approved indications. Buyers should match the dosing protocol to the specific use case rather than apply IV-clinical doses to med-spa contexts or vice versa.
Because L-Carnitine is a small molecule rather than a peptide, the analytical workflow uses methods appropriate to its quaternary-ammonium chemistry: ion-exchange or HILIC HPLC for chemical purity (L-Carnitine's polar zwitterionic structure makes reverse-phase HPLC ineffective without modified conditions), UV-Vis absorbance for routine identification, mass spec at 161 Da to confirm the molecular ion, and chiral HPLC or polarimetry to confirm the L-enantiomer (D-Carnitine is a biologically inactive enantiomer and should not be present in pharmaceutical-grade L-Carnitine). Residual-solvent screening per pharmacopeia conventions completes the standard release packet.
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