Glycine: a practical buyer’s guide for quality, specs, and reliable supply
If you’re hunting glycine for sale and want the real story—specs that matter, test methods, and what separates one vendor from another—this is the cheat sheet I wish I’d had years ago. To be honest, glycine is simple on paper, but buyers often tell me the difference shows up in consistency, cleanliness, and paperwork.
Quick context: the product here—Glycine, from Xinle Industrial Park, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province (China)—targets food, pharma-excipient, feed, and lab markets. Lately, demand is steady; pharma buffers and nutrition blends are nudging up volumes, while feed applications ebb and flow with commodity cycles. Prices, unsurprisingly, track upstream monochloroacetic acid and energy costs.
Technical specs that buyers actually check
| Parameter | Typical Spec (FCC/USP/EP range) | Method (≈) |
|---|---|---|
| Assay (dry basis) | ≥ 99.0% | HPLC or titration |
| pH (1% solution) | 5.5–7.0 | USP |
| Loss on Drying | ≤ 0.2% | 105°C drying |
| Heavy metals (as Pb) | ≤ 10 ppm (food); ≤ 5 ppm (pharma) | AAS/ICP-MS |
| Chloride / Sulfate | Pass compendial limits | Ion chromatography |
| Microbiological | TPC ≤ 1000 cfu/g; Yeast/Mold ≤ 100 cfu/g; Pathogens: negative | Plate count |
Chemistry: C2H5NO2, MW 75.07, CAS 56-40-6. Real-world values may vary by lot; always verify CoA.
How it’s made (short version)
- Materials: monochloroacetic acid + ammonia (main industrial route).
- Process: amination → decolorization → neutralization → multi-stage crystallization → filtration → drying → sieving.
- QC checkpoints: in-process pH, color (APHA), assay by HPLC, residual solvents, metals screen.
- Standards used: FCC/USP/EP monographs; ISO 9001 QMS; HACCP/FSSC 22000 for food-grade lines.
- Service life: ≈ 24–36 months in sealed 25 kg bags/drums; store cool, dry, away from volatiles.
- Industries: food & beverage (E640 flavor enhancer), pharma excipient & buffers, nutraceuticals, feed, plating/industrial buffers, lab electrophoresis (Tris–Glycine).
Applications and what users report
In food, it evens out sharp notes and supports sweetness; in labs, it’s the reliable workhorse in Tris–glycine buffer systems. Formulators tell me it dissolves cleanly and keeps solutions clear. Some feed manufacturers prefer slightly coarser mesh for handling—small detail, big difference on the line.
Representative batch data (example)
Assay 99.2% (HPLC); pH 6.1; LOD 0.11%; Heavy metals < 5 ppm; Chloride 0.02%; TPC 300 cfu/g; E. coli/S. aureus/Salmonella: not detected.
Vendor snapshot: who does what
| Vendor | Grade | Assay | Certs (≈) | MOQ | Lead Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hebei producer (Xinle Industrial Park) | Food/Pharma | ≥99.0% | ISO 9001; HACCP/FSSC 22000 (on request) | 500 kg | 7–15 days | Stable CoA, batch traceability |
| Trading house A | Food | ≥98.5% | ISO 9001 | 1 MT | 10–20 days | Price-driven, mixed origin |
| Lab supplier B | Reagent | ≥99.5% | ISO 9001 | 1–25 kg | Stock | Highest price per kg |
Customization and packaging
Options include mesh size (20–100), low-metals grades, extra-tight microbiological limits, and private-label 25 kg bags or fiber drums. For pharma customers, CoA + MSDS + TSE/BSE-free statement and allergen-free statements are standard; some also request USP/EP compliance letters.
Two quick case notes
- Beverage flavor house: shifted to tighter chloride spec; reported “cleaner top notes” and fewer filtration hiccups.
- Bioprocess lab: switched to uniform 40–60 mesh; reduced solution prep time by ≈12% thanks to faster dissolution.
If you need consistent supply and straightforward paperwork, this source in Hebei has been solid in my tracking. For quotes or SDS/CoA packs on glycine for sale, request current lot data and a sample—you’ll see the difference in clarity and odor right away, or so many customers say.
Citations
- Food Chemicals Codex (FCC) Monograph: Glycine. U.S. Pharmacopeia.
- USP–NF Monograph: Glycine. U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention.
- European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) Monograph: Glycine. European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines.
- EFSA. Glycine (E 640) as a flavoring and nutritional additive—safety evaluations. https://www.efsa.europa.eu/
- PubChem Compound Summary: Glycine (CID 750). https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/750
