Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+) bulk powder for formulators

NAD+ is the oxidised form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, the dinucleotide coenzyme that carries hydride between redox enzymes. It is not a peptide. It is on this site because it comes off the same Pepti production line as the peptides, on the same bulk-powder, 5 g, cold-chain terms, and formulators who buy GHK-Cu or glutathione here ask for it with the same paperwork. The page therefore sits in the group of non-peptide actives from the same production line.

The INCI name Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide is listed in CosIng with the function skin conditioning. The material Pepti, Guangzhou supplies is the free acid of the oxidised form, CAS 53-84-9, with a lot certificate of analysis showing HPLC purity and mass-spectrometry identity and a safety data sheet on request. Three public batch records for NAD+ are listed in the Pepti COA library and appear in the table below.

Identity: NAD+, not NADH and not a salt

PubChem lists the compound under CID 5892 with the title Nadide, its INN, the formula C21H27N7O14P2, a molecular weight of about 663.4 g/mol, CAS 53-84-9 and EC number 200-184-4 (PubChem CID 5892); β-NAD, coenzyme I and DPN are older names for the same molecule. Structurally it is adenosine joined through a pyrophosphate bridge to nicotinamide riboside; the pyridinium ring is the oxidised centre, and in the free acid its positive charge is balanced by a phosphate, so there is no counter-ion.

• NADH, CAS 606-68-8. The reduced form: PubChem CID 439153, C21H29N7O14P2, about 665.4 g/mol (PubChem CID 439153). It has its own ingredient listing, is usually sold as a disodium salt and degrades under the opposite pH conditions; the two are not interchangeable on a label or in a stability study.
• Sodium and lithium salts of NAD+. Sold under separate CAS numbers with a counter-ion that adds to the mass; the Pepti material is the free acid, so the formula and weight above apply.

The mass-spectrometry line of the COA shows the protonated molecule near 664.4 m/z.

Appearance, solubility and handling

The material is a white to off-white powder and markedly hygroscopic, which drives most of the handling advice: open only at room temperature and in dry air, weigh quickly and reseal with desiccant. A powder that has taken up water weighs more than the NAD+ it contains; the COA water content lets the formulator correct for it.

It is freely soluble in water, and as the free acid it gives a distinctly acidic solution that pulls down the pH of a water phase on its own; it is insoluble in oils and silicones and poorly soluble in ethanol. Long-term storage is −20 °C, working stock 2–8 °C, desiccated and protected from light; the lot COA carries the same statement and a retest date.

What the published literature reports

PubChem's record for the compound (CID 5892) carries the Merck Index description "highly hygroscopic white solid" (PubChem CID 5892, Nadide).

On stability in solution, a 2024 study by Wolfe and colleagues in Molecules looked at nicotinamide cofactors in common aqueous buffers. They describe NAD+ as undergoing base-catalysed degradation at high pH, the opposite of NADH, which degrades under acid, and cite an optimum near pH 8.5 when both must be held together. In their buffers at pH 8.5 and 19 °C over 43 days, NAD+ nearly fully degraded in HEPES, fell by only about 4% in Tris and degraded at a rate similar to NADH in phosphate; the authors note that their NAD+ results are qualitative (Wolfe KD et al. Molecules, 2024).

Most other NAD+ literature concerns cellular metabolism in research models and is not a cosmetic file; the CosIng listing gives the function skin conditioning and nothing more. A brand using NAD+ in a finished product builds its own substantiation and safety file.

Formulation notes for the bench

Chemistry, not efficacy: the molecule has two weak points, the glycosidic bond between the pyridinium ring and its ribose and the ring itself, and both are attacked by hydroxide and by heat.

• pH. Keep the water phase mildly acidic, roughly pH 4 to 6, where most skincare bases already sit; alkaline bases break the molecule down within days. Because the free acid lowers pH on its own, add the NAD+ first and adjust afterwards.
• Heat. Add during cool-down below 40 °C and do not hold bulk warm. In a hot-process emulsion, add it at the end dissolved in a little cool water.
• Hygroscopic powder. Weigh in low humidity and keep the container closed between weighings.
• Oxidisers and reducers. Strong oxidisers such as peroxides and hypochlorite are incompatible. Strong reducing agents convert it to NADH; check ascorbic-acid systems rather than assuming compatibility.
• Enzymes, microbes and packaging. NAD+ is an enzyme substrate and a nutrient, so a poorly preserved water phase loses it quickly; confirm preservation by challenge test in the buyer's base and use airless, opaque packaging.

The formulator sets the use level from their own stability work.

Specification and documents for this material

The lot certificate of analysis reports reverse-phase HPLC purity as area per cent, mass-spectrometry identity against the expected molecular weight, appearance, water content, and the storage and retest statements. Water content matters more here than for the peptides because it changes with every opening of the container. A sixteen-section safety data sheet is available, and both documents name the Pepti site in Guangzhou.

The three public NAD+ records are listed below with their reported purity. They are vial-format records; the bulk lot you receive has its own COA and lot number, which is the document for your batch file.

Public batch records for NAD+

Vial-format records published by the manufacturer. Reported HPLC purity is per lot; your bulk-powder lot carries its own COA.

Record	Specification	HPLC purity	Record page
PEP260716-NJ100	100 mg vial	99.3%	Open record PEP260716-NJ100 on peptioem.com
PEP260705-NJ500	500 mg vial	98.62%	Open record PEP260705-NJ500 on peptioem.com
PEP260719-NJ1000	1000 mg vial	99.6%	Open record PEP260719-NJ1000 on peptioem.com