MOTS-c | 32mg | 3ml

MOTS-c — also written MOTS c and frequently mistyped mot c — is a synthetic version of a mitochondrial-derived peptide: a short sequence encoded not in nuclear DNA but within the 12S rRNA region of the mitochondrial genome. That origin is what makes it interesting as a research tool, because it belongs to a small class of peptides that the mitochondrion itself encodes. Ours is supplied pre-mixed as a solution in a sealed 3 ml vial, 32mg per vial, HPLC-verified with a batch Certificate of Analysis, synthesised and dispatched from our UK facility.

Research use only. MOTS-c is supplied strictly for in-vitro laboratory research. This page describes chemistry, format, quality and handling. It does not describe dosing, administration or use in humans or animals, and makes no therapeutic claims.

MOTS-c at a glance

What the "32" means — and what it does not

This page sits at /products/mots-c-32, and the number confuses people often enough to be worth stating plainly: 32 is the milligram content of the vial, not part of the compound's name and not the length of the sequence. MOTS-c is a 16-residue peptide, always. A listing described as "MOTS-c 10" or "MOTS-c 32" elsewhere is describing the same molecule at a different mass. There is one MOTS-c, and the numeral after it is a quantity.

Any older link to /products/mots-c resolves here, so this is the single page for the compound.

What MOTS-c is, chemically

Sixteen amino acids, 2,174.6 g/mol, and two methionine residues — which is the one handling detail worth knowing, because methionine's thioether sulphur is the most readily oxidised side chain in the standard amino-acid set. That is part of why the material is supplied and stored cold and protected from light, and why the batch certificate's purity figure is the number to check rather than a supplier's generic "99%" claim.

The sequence is encoded within the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene, which is why MOTS-c is described as mitochondrially encoded rather than nuclear-encoded. It is one of a small group of such peptides — humanin and the SHLP series are the others usually named alongside it — and that group membership, rather than any structural feature, is what defines the class.

How MOTS-c is studied

In biochemical and cellular models MOTS-c is investigated in work on energy-sensing pathways, particularly AMPK activation and the metabolic gene regulation downstream of it; on insulin-related signalling in cultured cells; and on cellular stress adaptation, where stress-responsive transcriptional programmes are the readout. A distinct strand of the literature uses it as a probe for mitochondrial–nuclear communication — the question of how a peptide encoded in the mitochondrial genome influences transcription in the nucleus, which is the reason the class was named at all. Reported observations vary with concentration, exposure time, cell type and study design; they are laboratory observations only, not established effects in humans or animals. The MOTS-c guide covers the literature in more depth.

MOTS-c alongside NAD+

The two are studied in overlapping territory, which is why laboratories that buy one often buy the other. The AMPK energy-sensing pathway that dominates the MOTS-c literature and the NAD⁺/sirtuin axis are interconnected systems, so a design examining cellular energy state frequently needs both compounds available as separate, characterised reagents rather than one blend. Our NAD+ listing is a pre-mixed 3 ml vial on the same terms as this one, with its own batch certificate. They are supplied separately on purpose: attributing an observation to one pathway requires the other to be a controlled variable, which a co-formulated vial makes impossible.

Pre-mixed MOTS-c vs lyophilised

Most UK listings for MOTS-c are lyophilised powders requiring reconstitution with bacteriostatic water. Ours is supplied already in solution: no reconstitution step, no bacteriostatic water to source, no pipetting error introduced at the bench, and the concentration shown in the key facts above holds for every vial in the batch. Because the sequence carries two oxidation-prone methionines, the cold chain is not a formality — vials ship chilled in an insulated pouch, go into a 2–8 °C refrigerator on arrival, and should be used within the storage window on the label rather than kept as shelf stock.

Quality: HPLC purity and the Certificate of Analysis

Every MOTS-c batch is verified by HPLC at 99%+ purity, and the figure printed on the Certificate of Analysis is the value recorded in the laboratory for that batch rather than a marketing claim. A batch-specific COA ships with every order, and sample certificates are viewable in the COA library before you buy. For a 16-residue peptide the certificate's purity figure carries real information: longer sequences accumulate more truncation and deletion by-products during synthesis than a tripeptide does, so the measured value is the difference between suppliers rather than a formality.

Storage and handling

• Refrigerate at 2–8 °C on arrival; keep the vial sealed and protected from light.
• Do not freeze. Freeze–thaw cycling damages peptides already in solution.
• Draw from the vial with standard aseptic laboratory technique.
• Check the certificate for the recorded appearance and the storage window for that lot.

Buying MOTS-c in the UK: what to check

1. Mass per vial. The numeral in a MOTS-c listing is milligrams, not a variant — compare 32mg against 10mg listings on that basis.
2. Concentration, for anything supplied as a solution: total mass alone does not say what is in a given volume.
3. A batch-specific Certificate of Analysis naming the batch, the method and the measured purity, viewable before you order.
4. Format. Powder needs bacteriostatic water and a reconstitution step; a pre-mixed solution needs cold-chain delivery and a refrigerator.
5. Legal status. MOTS-c is lawful to buy and possess in the UK for laboratory research. It is not a licensed medicine, and every vial is supplied and labelled for in-vitro research use only.