How much water do I add to a 20 mg Cartalax vial?

There is no single correct amount: water changes how many units a dose is, not how many doses the vial holds. With 5 mL the vial is 4 mg/mL and 200 mcg is 5 units (0.05 mL) on a U-100 insulin syringe. The units table gives 5 mL.

How long does a 20 mg Cartalax vial last?

At 200 mcg a dose and once daily, about 14.3 weeks. How long a mixed vial keeps is a separate limit; see storage below.

How many 20 mg vials do I need for a cycle?

1 vial at 200 mcg 7 times a week for 1.4 weeks.

What does 1 unit equal in a 20 mg Cartalax vial?

40 mcg with 5 mL of bacteriostatic water, on a U-100 syringe.

Research use only · common protocol

Cartalax 20 mg vial dosage

A 20 mg Cartalax vial mixed with 5 mL of bacteriostatic water gives 4 mg/mL, so 200 mcg is 5 units (0.05 mL) on a U-100 insulin syringe. At 200 mcg a dose, one vial holds 100 doses.

Email me this plan, with a reminder before the vial's 28-day mark →

The common Cartalax protocol is 200 mcg, once daily - common practice, not a dose established in trials. Evidence, side effects and legal status are on the Cartalax guide.

Cartalax 20 mg vial at a glance

Vial: 20 mg of Cartalax per vial
Common dose: 200 mcg
How often: once daily
Mixing example: 5 mL bacteriostatic water = 4 mg/mL; 1 unit = 40 mcg
Doses per vial: 100 at 200 mcg
Cycle: 1.4 weeks, then 1.5-3 weeks off

What Cartalax is

Class:: Synthetic tripeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp), one of the Khavinson-group short peptide bioregulators
Also called:: AED peptide, Ala-Glu-Asp, T-31
Used for:: Marketed for cartilage and joint support, sold as a "cartilage bioregulator" for age-related joint wear.
Human evidence:: Animal / lab only. I could not find a single PubMed-indexed paper that studies Cartalax by that name, and a direct title/abstract search for "Cartalax" returns zero results. Two papers from the same Russian research group do dose the identical Ala-Glu-Asp sequence under the lab code "T-31", in organotypic and cultured kidney (renal) cell models from young and old rats, reporting increased cell proliferation and reduced senescence markers. That is real, citable, cell-culture evidence for this exact molecule - but it is evidence about kidney cells, not the cartilage or joint tissue the product is marketed for. The same group has also dosed it in living rats: in cisplatin-induced kidney failure (less protein and electrolytes in the urine), in old rats (more urine output, less urine protein, no signs of kidney toxicity), and, as T-31, in an ovariectomy model of osteoporosis (less bone-density loss than untreated rats, less effect than a cartilage extract). No human study of any kind is verifiable for this peptide.
US status:: Research use only. Not approved for human use by the FDA or any regulator I can verify, and sold internationally as a research chemical or unregulated supplement rather than through an approved drug pathway.

The full picture, with every study: Cartalax guide.

Units per dose: Cartalax 20 mg vial

Water added	Concentration	1 unit =	200 mcg
5 mL	4 mg/mL	40 mcg	5 units

U-100 insulin syringe (100 units = 1 mL), to the nearest half unit. Water volumes are examples. Other numbers: dosage calculator.

How many doses a 20 mg vial holds

Dose	Doses per vial	Weeks per vial
200 mcg	100	14.3

Weeks per vial at the common frequency (once daily). Doses per vial do not depend on how much water you add.

Email me my Cartalax 20 mg vial plan

Pick your water volume and dose and I will email you the numbers for this vial - units, volume, doses per vial and how long it lasts - plus the mixing and storage steps, and a reminder before the mixed vial reaches 28 days.

The common Cartalax protocol

Dose	200 mcg per injection
How often	once daily
Timing	Same time each day; morning, before or with breakfast, is the timing most sources describe.
Route	Subcutaneous injection
Cycle	1.4 weeks
Break	1.5-3 weeks
Sources agree?	Yes, the sources give the same protocol

Common practice from the vendors and clinics that publish it, not a dose tested in trials. Where it comes from: [1], [2], [3]. I do not give week-by-week titration: none of these sources states one.

Supplies for one cycle with 20 mg vials

Counted for the low and high ends of the common protocol, mixing each vial with 5 mL of water. One new syringe per injection.

Plan	Injections	20 mg vials	Insulin syringes	Bacteriostatic water	Alcohol swabs
200 mcg, 7×/week, 1.4 weeks	10	1	10	5 mL (1 × 10 mL bottle)	22 (1 × 100-pack)

Arithmetic on the protocol and this vial size. Swabs: two per vial mixed (both stoppers) and two per injection (vial stopper and skin). An opened multi-dose vial has a use-by date (see storage), which on a slow schedule can matter more than the dose count. Plan your own numbers with the protocol builder.

How to mix a 20 mg Cartalax vial

For this vial: 5 mL of bacteriostatic water makes 4 mg/mL, so 200 mcg is 5 units (0.05 mL) on a U-100 insulin syringe. Pick a different volume from the units table if you want bigger or smaller draws; the number of doses stays the same.

Wipe the rubber stoppers of both the peptide vial and the bacteriostatic water vial with an alcohol swab and let the alcohol dry. ^[4][5]
With a new sterile needle and syringe, draw up the amount of bacteriostatic water you have chosen for the dilution. ^[4][5][6]
Inject the water into the peptide vial by aiming the stream against the inside glass wall, which helps prevent foaming. ^[7]
Swirl or roll the vial gently until the powder has fully dissolved; do not shake it. Do not inject the solution if it is cloudy or has particles in it. ^[4][5][7]
Label the vial with the date and time it was mixed, the amount of water added and how long it can be used after mixing. ^[4]
Store the mixed vial in the refrigerator at 2-8°C (36-46°F) and do not freeze it. ^[7]

Step by step with pictures: how to reconstitute peptides. About the water itself: bacteriostatic water.

Storing Cartalax vials

Freeze-dried (lyophilized) peptide keeps far longer than peptide in solution; peptide suppliers advise storing the powder at -20°C away from bright light. ^[8]
Protect peptide vials from heat and light. ^[8][9]
Avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles; a prescription peptide label also says not to freeze a vial once it has been mixed. ^[7][8]
Once a multi-dose vial, such as bacteriostatic water, has been opened (needle-punctured), date it and discard it within 28 days unless its manufacturer states another date. ^[10][11]

More detail: peptide storage and shelf life.

Injecting safely

Clean the injection site with an alcohol swab and let the skin dry completely before injecting. ^[12][13]
Pinch up a fold of skin and fat (not muscle) and insert the needle at a 45- to 90-degree angle: 90 degrees where there is enough fatty tissue, 45 degrees where there is little. ^[12][13][14]
Pulling back on the plunger (aspiration) is not necessary for a subcutaneous injection, because the chance of the needle being in a blood vessel is small. ^[12]
Inject slowly, at roughly 10 seconds per mL. ^[12]
Common sites are the belly, the thigh and the upper arm; rotate sites, keeping each injection at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the last. ^[7][12][13]

Hygiene and warning signs

Use a new sterile needle and syringe for every injection and every time you enter a vial; never reuse them. ^[6][10][13]
Never share needles, syringes or pens with anyone, even if the needle is changed; unsafe injection practices spread hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. ^[6][9][10]
Put used needles and syringes in a sharps disposal container straight away (FDA-cleared if possible), never loose in the trash, recycling or toilet, and dispose of the container following your community's guidelines. ^[15][16]
Contact a health care provider if the injection site shows signs of infection, such as redness, swelling, red streaks or a fever. ^[13]

Where to inject: subcutaneous injection sites.

How Cartalax works

Cartalax is the developers' name for the synthetic tripeptide Ala-Glu-Asp (AED). Their 2021 review lists it as regulating cartilage and skin fibroblast function, but none of the six papers it cites for AED is a study of cartilage. ^[17]
In young and ageing kidney cell cultures, AED increased cell proliferation and SIRT-6, a protein whose loss the authors link to cell senescence, and lowered the senescence markers p16, p21 and p53. Molecular modelling suggested it binds the minor groove of DNA at A-T-rich sequences. ^[18]
In human skin fibroblasts undergoing replicative ageing, AED increased production of sirtuin-1, sirtuin-6 and collagen I. ^[19]
In human embryonic bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells, AED and two related short peptides raised IGF1 gene expression 3.5-5.6-fold and increased NF-kB gene expression. ^[20]

What the Cartalax research found

Human evidence: animal / lab only. Each result says what was studied.

Animal studyIn kidney tissue explants from young and old rats, AED (lab code T-31) stimulated proliferation and reduced apoptosis, though less than a polypeptide complex extracted from calf kidneys. ^[21]
Animal studyIn rats with cisplatin-induced acute kidney failure, AED reduced protein excretion and electrolyte concentrations in the urine; a kidney polypeptide complex and two related peptides (EDL and AEDG) normalised a wider range of kidney measures. ^[22]
Animal studyIn old rats, AED was among the treatments that increased urine output (by 1.2-1.4 times) and, with a kidney polypeptide complex, reduced urine protein by 1.5-2.8 times. ^[23]
Animal studyIn ovariectomised rats, a model of post-menopausal osteoporosis, a substance coded T-31 (the developers' code for AED) both prevented loss of bone mineral density and increased density that had already fallen, though less effectively than a cartilage-extract preparation tested alongside it. ^[21][24]

Cartalax side effects and risks

I found no published human study of Cartalax or AED, so there is no human safety data; the only safety-related observation is from rats.

Animal studyIn the study of old rats given AED and related peptides, the authors reported raised antioxidant enzyme activity in kidney tissue and, with tissue examination, no signs of kidney toxicity. ^[23]

Other things to know

No published human study of any kind exists for this compound, at any dose, for any use.
The checkable studies of this exact molecule are mostly kidney research in cells and rats, plus one rat bone-density study, not cartilage - so even the preclinical evidence does not test the joint-health claim it is sold on.
Sold as a research chemical or unregulated capsule/vial product, so contents, purity and actual peptide identity are not verified by any regulator.
Evidence for the wider Khavinson short-peptide programme this compound belongs to is concentrated in one research group, published mostly in Russian-language or in-house Russian journals, and has not been independently replicated outside that tradition.

Reported side effects and what the studies measured: Cartalax side effects.

Where this vial size comes from

Cartalax is sold as a 20 mg vial by the pages below, each checked on the date shown. I list them as evidence that this size exists, not as a recommendation to buy from them.

Next Level PharmvendorLists it as: "Cartalax (20mg)"; size option 20mg · checked 2026-09-28
BioEdge Research LabsvendorLists it as: "Cartalax (20mg)"; Fill: 20mg · checked 2026-09-28

The doses come from the sourced common protocol on the Cartalax guide, and every number on this page is arithmetic on those doses and this vial size.

Where to buy Cartalax for research

Sold for research use only. Listed by Next Level Pharm and BioEdge Research Labs; compare them on my vendors page or see the listing on the Cartalax page.

Questions

How much water do I add to a 20 mg Cartalax vial?: There is no single correct amount: water changes how many units a dose is, not how many doses the vial holds. With 5 mL the vial is 4 mg/mL and 200 mcg is 5 units (0.05 mL) on a U-100 insulin syringe. The units table gives 5 mL.
How many doses are in a 20 mg Cartalax vial?: 100 doses at 200 mcg.
How long does a 20 mg Cartalax vial last?: At 200 mcg a dose and once daily, about 14.3 weeks. How long a mixed vial keeps is a separate limit; see storage below.
How many 20 mg vials do I need for a cycle?: 1 vial at 200 mcg 7 times a week for 1.4 weeks.
What does 1 unit equal in a 20 mg Cartalax vial?: 40 mcg with 5 mL of bacteriostatic water, on a U-100 syringe.

References (24 sources)

[1] Peptide Initiative: 200 mcg subcutaneous once daily, 10-day cycles repeated periodically; notes Cartalax has only lab and cell-culture research and no trial-set human dose (community, checked 2026-09-28)
[2] Path To Peptides: Subcutaneous once daily during 10-day cycles, 1,400 mcg per 7-day week (200 mcg/day average), run 10 days on then 10-20 days off before repeating; states no validated human dose exists (community, checked 2026-09-28)
[3] iPept: Oral capsule product (0.20 g capsules): 2 capsules once daily in the morning, 5-10 minutes before a meal, course of 1-3 months, repeatable after a 1-2 month break (vendor, checked 2026-09-28)
[4] OpenStax, Rice University: 12.3 Preparing Unit-Dose Packaged Medications - Clinical Nursing Skills
[5] East Carolina University College of Nursing: Reconstitution of Medication
[6] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Considerations for Blood Glucose Monitoring and Insulin Administration
[7] DailyMed, National Library of Medicine: SEROSTIM (somatropin) for injection - prescribing information and instructions for use
[8] GenScript: Peptide Storage and Handling Guidelines
[9] DailyMed, National Library of Medicine: OZEMPIC (semaglutide) injection - prescribing information
[10] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Preventing Unsafe Injection Practices
[11] Pfizer: Bacteriostatic Water for Injection, USP - prescribing information
[12] OpenStax, Rice University: 12.5 Administering Subcutaneous Injections - Clinical Nursing Skills
[13] MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine: Subcutaneous (SQ) injections
[14] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Chapter 6: Vaccine Administration - Pink Book
[15] US Food and Drug Administration: Best Way to Get Rid of Used Needles and Other Sharps
[16] US Food and Drug Administration: DOs and DON'Ts of Proper Sharps Disposal
[17] PubMed Central, National Library of Medicine: Khavinson VK et al. Peptide Regulation of Gene Expression: A Systematic Review. Molecules 2021;26(22):7053 (PMID 34834147) - full text, Table 5
[18] Khavinson VKh, Tarnovskaia SI, Lin'kova NS et al. [Tripeptides slow down aging process in renal cell culture]. Adv Gerontol. 2014;27(4):651-6.
[19] Fridman NV, Linkova NS, Kozhevnikova EO et al. Comparison of the Effects of KE and AED Peptides on Functional Activity of Human Skin Fibroblasts during Their Replicative Aging. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2020;170(1):154-157.
[20] Ashapkin V, Khavinson V, Shilovsky G et al. Gene expression in human mesenchymal stem cell aging cultures: modulation by short peptides. Mol Biol Rep. 2020;47(6):4323-4329.
[21] Chalisova NI, Lin'kova NS, Nichik TE et al. Peptide Regulation of Cells Renewal Processes in Kidney Tissue Cultures from Young and Old Animals. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2015;159(1):124-7.
[22] Zamorskii II, Shchudrova TS, Lin'kova NS et al. Peptides Restore Functional State of the Kidneys During Cisplatin-Induced Acute Renal Failure. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2015;159(6):736-9.
[23] Zamorskii II, Shchudrova TS, Zeleniuk VG et al. [The influence of peptides on the morphofunctional state of old rats kidneys.]. Adv Gerontol. 2018;31(4):498-504.
[24] Povorozniuk VV, Khavinson VKh, Makogonchuk AV et al. [Effect of peptide regulators on the structural and functional status of bone tissue in ageing rats]. Adv Gerontol. 2007;20(2):134-7.