FAQ
25 questions, grouped by topic, answered directly, jump to a section below or scan the whole page.
I.
Ordering
- #Do I need to request a quote before I can order?
- No. Every SKU on the site carries its list price. That's the price you pay. There's no quote gate anywhere in the catalog; add a pack size to the cart and check out.
- #Is there a minimum order quantity or dollar amount?
- No minimum order. You can buy a single vial, a single pack size of resin, or a single tube of enzyme.
- #What payment methods do you accept?
- Credit and debit cards at checkout, and wire or ACH on larger orders by request. Approved institutional accounts can pay against a purchase order on net-30 terms instead, covered in the next answer.
- #Do you accept purchase orders / offer net terms for universities and companies?
- Yes. Academic, government, and corporate purchasing offices can be set up on a net-30 PO account. Send the PO, or a request for terms, to support@bramantebio.com, or apply from your account. A first-time institutional buyer goes through a short credit check; after that, POs from the same institution go straight to fulfillment.
- #Can I place an order without creating an account?
- Yes, checkout doesn't require an account. If you already know the catalog numbers you want, the quick-order box on the catalog page lets you paste a list of SKUs and quantities directly into a cart.
- #Can I cancel or change an order after I've placed it?
- If it hasn't shipped yet, yes, contact us as soon as possible with your order number. Made-to-order and dry-ice-packed items move into production quickly, so the earlier you reach out, the more likely we can still change it.
- #Where are you based, and how do I reach a person?
- Everything we sell is made, packed, and shipped from one facility in Cambridge, MA. The full postal address, which is also the billing and remit-to address for a purchase order or a vendor-setup form, is 160 Alewife Brook Parkway, STE 1316, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Email support@bramantebio.com and a person who works in that building answers, not a ticket queue.
II.
Shipping & storage
- #How fast do you ship?
- In-stock items ship the same business day when the order is confirmed by 1pm ET, next business day otherwise, with 1-2 day US transit. Made-to-order and backordered items show a lead time on the product page before you check out. That's a real number, not a placeholder. Custom work is quoted within 24 hours.
- #What does cold-chain packaging actually look like?
- It depends on the product's cold-chain class, printed on every product page: ambient ships in a standard box with no special packaging; cold pack ships with gel refrigerant sized to hold 2-8 °C through a standard transit window; dry ice ships in an insulated container with enough dry ice to hold roughly -70 °C for the transit time, and carries a DG Class 9 hazard label. Every recombinant growth factor and cytokine is in that last class. They ship as a frozen solution, not a powder. Shipping & lead times has the full breakdown.
- #Do you ship internationally?
- Not yet at launch. We currently ship within the United States. If you need product outside the US, contact us and we'll let you know as international shipping becomes available.
- #What if my package arrives warm, or the dry ice has fully sublimated?
- A dry-ice shipment where the dry ice has fully sublimated but the contents are still frozen and cold to the touch is normal at the tail end of a transit window. That's expected behavior, not damage. If a cold-chain product arrives warm to the touch, or a dry-ice product has visibly thawed, contact us before using it. We'll sort out a replacement.
- #How should I store product as soon as it arrives?
- Move it to the storage condition printed on the vial label and datasheet immediately, growth factors and cytokines arrive frozen on dry ice and go straight to -80 °C, most liquid media and sera want 2-8 °C, resins are ambient. Don't let a cold-chain item sit at room temperature on a bench overnight before storing it properly.
- #Do you ship on dry ice, and are there restrictions?
- Yes, for the subset of the catalog whose cold-chain class requires it. Dry-ice shipments are classed as UN 1845, DG Class 9, and can only move on next-day service. That's a shipping regulation, not a choice we're making, so dry-ice items can't be shipped on slower, cheaper service even if you'd prefer it.
III.
Products & quality
- #What does "RUO" mean, and does it apply to what I'm ordering?
- Research Use Only, the product isn't validated or labeled for diagnostic, therapeutic, or other clinical use. It applies to everything we sell, without exception. What varies is the checkout step: most biologics and reagents ask you to acknowledge the restriction before you can pay, while items with no biology in them, like a bare chromatography resin, don't carry that prompt. The restriction is the same either way.
- #How is purity determined, and what methods do you use?
- It depends on the product class. Recombinant proteins are typically assessed by SDS-PAGE and RP-HPLC, each reported as a percentage on the CoA along with the method. The specific method used for a given lot is always named, not just the number.
- #Carrier-free or BSA-carrier?
- Each product page states the formulation. Carrier-free is protein in PBS; BSA-carrier adds 0.1% BSA in the same buffer. Pick based on your assay.
- #Do you test every lot for endotoxin?
- Yes, for products where endotoxin is part of the release spec, recombinant proteins and cell culture media both carry a stated endotoxin value on their CoA, tested by LAL.
- #What's your policy if a product doesn't perform as specified?
- If a lot doesn't meet the activity, purity, or other spec stated on its CoA, contact us with your order number and lot number. We'll replace it or refund it. We'd rather know about a bad lot than have you quietly work around it.
- #Are your reagents GMP grade?
- No. Every product in the catalog is research use only (RUO), manufactured under a documented QC system in our own facility, not a certified GMP one, and released against the published spec on its page. If you need GMP-grade material, we will tell you that up front rather than sell you an RUO lot for a regulated use.
- #How long is shelf life once a product is thawed or opened?
- Stated on the product's datasheet under stability, separately from the unopened shelf life. As a rule of thumb, a growth factor is good for about 12 months frozen at -80 °C in its sealed vial and about a week at 2-8 °C once thawed, aliquot on first thaw and don't refreeze. Check the specific number for your lot rather than assuming.
IV.
Documentation
- #Where do I get a Certificate of Analysis for my lot?
- Every shipment includes the CoA for the exact lot in the box. If you need a copy, for a lot already in your freezer, or to review before buying, look it up under Certificate of Analysis with the catalog number and lot number.
- #Where do I get a Safety Data Sheet (SDS)?
- SDS documents are product-level (not lot-specific) and linked directly from each product page, or indexed in the SDS library. Most reagents in the catalog are non-hazardous; dry-ice shipments carry their own DG Class 9 declaration separate from the product SDS.
- #Can I see a full datasheet before I buy?
- Yes, the datasheet is published directly on the product page (spec, bioactivity, storage, handling), and the same file is available as a download under Documents on that page.
- #Can I get a document reissued if I lose it?
- Yes. Datasheets and SDS are always available from the product page. For a CoA, pull it again with the catalog number and lot number. It's a lookup, not a one-time send.
- #Do you provide custom certificates, country of origin, TSE/BSE statements, and similar?
- For products where this is relevant (e.g. animal-derived components like FBS), contact us with the specific certificate your institution or import process requires and we'll confirm what we can provide for that lot.
Not answered here? Go back to support for ordering, lead times, returns, and documents, or contact us directly at support@bramantebio.com. If we can’t do something, we’ll tell you before you order.