Glossary
Research chemical
Also written not for human consumption, RUO, research use only
A legal label, not a quality grade. It describes what a seller is permitted to sell you, and says nothing about what is in the vial.
Material sold this way is not approved for human use, and the label is how a seller stays on the right side of that. It is a statement about regulatory status and marketing — not about purity — sterility, potency or manufacturing standard.
One consequence is worth being precise about: even where a compound has completed human trials, material sold as a research chemical is not the product those trials tested. The trials used a manufactured drug at a known concentration under a pharmacopoeial standard, and that standard is exactly what this label sits outside.
A certificate of analysis is the only routine check available, and it is a limited one.
Relevant compounds