Dr.PeteFamMed said:

They are not contradictory, they measure different things, and this is the single most common misreading of a certificate.

I am more sceptical of certificates as a category than this thread is. The document tells you about a sample somebody chose to send, at a moment in time, and nothing about the vial in your hand. Independent purchase-and-test is a different quality of evidence and everything else is inference.

lori_vegas said:

I have a certificate reporting 99.2% purity and 6.1mg content on a vial sold as 5mg, and I cannot work out whether those two numbers are consistent or…

COA red flags for certificates of analysis — here's what to look for when reviewing a Certificate of Analysis:

• No HPLC data: If there's no chromatography graph, it's not a real COA
• Exact 100% purity: Suspicious — real testing always shows slight variation
• No batch number: Can't trace back to specific production
• No endotoxin testing: For injectables, this is essential
• Template looks like it was made in Word: Professional labs have standardized formats

I have seen fake COAs that are literally photoshopped. Always verify independently if possible.

InsuranceTom said:

I am more sceptical of certificates as a category than this thread is.

Vendor quality matters when discussing certificates of analysis. I've tested my last 4 batches through Janoshik and purity has ranged from 98.5% to 100.5%. Consistency is key.

For anyone new: always request the COA, and consider independent verification. The $300 for a Janoshik test is worth the peace of mind.

Following on from Dr.EndoIndy — and this may be the naive question:

Whether a purity figure and a content figure can disagree without one of them being wrong?

Reporting back.

Purity and content being different measurements was the piece I was missing. The vial was overfilled and pure, which is a very different problem from the one I thought I had.