Verified credentialing
A proctored examination, identity verification, and a permanent public verification record for every certificate issued.
Research Use Only Standards Body - In Formation
A documented credential for people who handle research use only chemicals.
The RUO Foundation exists to raise the floor on safety, documentation, and scientific literacy in the research use only supply chain - beginning with peptides. Certification is earned through examination, tied to a verified identity, and publicly verifiable.
Standing notice. Research use only materials are not drugs, supplements, cosmetics, or medical devices. They are not for human or veterinary consumption. This site teaches safe laboratory handling, documentation, and legal literacy - it does not endorse, supply, or advise on personal use.
What the Foundation is building
Documented curriculum
Coursework built from primary literature and regulatory source documents, with citations attached to every claim.
Material integrity
Standards for certificates of analysis, chain of custody, storage, and disposal - with an independent testing program planned.
Public-safety governance
Intended nonprofit structure with an independent board, published conflict-of-interest policy, and no supplier control.
Why a credential at all
Research use only material moves through a market with almost no shared standard of competence. Sellers cannot distinguish a documented researcher from an anonymous buyer. Researchers cannot distinguish a rigorous supplier from a repackager.
A credential does not create legal permission that does not exist. What it can do is create an auditable record: this person completed identity verification, passed a written examination on handling, documentation, and legal limits, and agreed to a code of conduct.
The long-term ambition is that documentation collected under a common protocol becomes usable evidence - the kind of structured, reproducible record that can support formal clinical investigation rather than substitute for it.
Roadmap
- Phase I - Curriculum & examination
Published syllabus, literature-cited modules, and a written certification exam with an independently reviewed item bank.
- Phase II - Identity & registry
Third-party identity verification, credential registry, and public verification lookup for resellers and institutions.
- Phase III - Governance
Nonprofit formation, independent board with scientific and legal seats, and a published conflict-of-interest policy.
- Phase IV - Testing & evidence
Independent analytical testing for identity and purity, plus a structured adverse findings and observation registry.
Peptide reference database
Browse all 6 entriesEach entry summarizes classification, handling and storage considerations, documented hazards, regulatory status, and links to indexed literature.
- BPC-157
Synthetic peptide fragment - research use only
Pentadecapeptide (15 amino acids) derived from a human gastric protein fragment.
- TB-500 (Thymosin β4 fragment)
Synthetic peptide fragment - research use only
Seven-residue actin-binding fragment of the 43-residue protein thymosin β4.
- Semaglutide
Approved drug substance - RUO material is not pharmaceutical grade
Acylated 31-residue GLP-1 analogue with an AIB substitution at position 8.
- Ipamorelin
Synthetic peptide - research use only
Pentapeptide growth hormone secretagogue, ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1a) agonist.
- GHK-Cu
Cosmetic ingredient / research reagent
Tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine complexed with copper(II).
- CJC-1295
Synthetic peptide - research use only
Growth hormone releasing hormone analogue; sold with and without a drug affinity complex (DAC).