What a certificate of analysis should show
Updated · Vanta Foundry
Short answer
What should a certificate of analysis (COA) for a research material include?
A credible certificate of analysis names the material and the lot it covers, the laboratory that ran the analysis and the date, the methods used to confirm identity and measure purity, and the results with their units. It should match a lot number you can find on the unit itself. A COA with no lot number, no date or no method is a marketing document, not a report.
The fields that matter
- Material and lot number. The report has to cover a specific production lot, and the same lot number should be printed on the unit.
- Laboratory and date. Who ran the analysis, and when.
- Identity method. How the material was confirmed to be what it claims to be, commonly by mass spectrometry.
- Purity method and result. How purity was measured, commonly by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the result.
- Raw data. A chromatogram or spectrum, so the result can be read rather than just believed.
Warning signs
- One report reused across every lot of a product.
- No lot number, or a lot number that matches nothing on the label.
- A purity figure with no method beside it.
- No date, or a date years before the lot was made.
- A certificate that cannot be found again later, for example one sent only as an image in a chat.
Why the lot link matters
A report proves something about one lot. Its value to your customer depends entirely on being able to connect the unit in front of them to that report. That is why lot numbers belong on labels, on packing records and in a searchable library, not only in an email thread.
If you sell under your own brand, the lot on your label should resolve to the report for that lot, wherever your customer looks it up.
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