A practical reference on ACTH fragment: what it is, how it behaves, what the literature reports, and where the honest uncertainties sit.
This page was last updated on 2026-02-27 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.
Regulatory status varies sharply by country. Semax is registered for medical use in Russia, where it appears in formularies as a nasal solution, and it also holds registration in a small number of neighbouring states. It has no approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or the European Medicines Agency, and it is not a scheduled controlled substance in most jurisdictions. Elsewhere it circulates mainly as laboratory material, so purity documentation comes from suppliers rather than from a national pharmacopoeia.
Semax is a synthetic peptide created in the Soviet Union during the early 1980s by researchers working in Moscow. It was built from the short adrenocorticotropic hormone fragment known as ACTH(4-10), and the chain was then extended with three additional amino acids. The resulting molecule was named semax and entered clinical use in Russia in 1994. It is generally described as a nootropic and neuroprotective agent rather than as a hormone analogue.
Material sold for laboratory use varies widely in stated purity and documentation. A certificate of analysis should list the analytical method, the column and detector used, and the observed purity value. Independent verification by an outside laboratory is the practical way to confirm identity when documentation is absent or internally inconsistent. Regulatory status differs by country, and a product legal in one jurisdiction may be unapproved or controlled in another.
Identity and purity of semax are established with reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to ultraviolet detection, usually at 214 nanometres. Mass spectrometry, most often electrospray ionisation in positive mode, confirms the molecular mass and reveals truncated sequences. Amino acid analysis and peptide mapping after enzymatic digestion provide additional structural confirmation. Laboratories typically report purity as the percentage area of the main peak, a figure that does not capture isomeric or oxidised variants unless the method resolves them.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical class | Synthetic heptapeptide | Analogue of the ACTH(4-10) fragment |
| Amino acid sequence | Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro | Single-letter form MEHFPGP |
| Molecular formula | C37H51N9O10S | Free peptide, nominal mass near 814 Da |
| First registration | 1994, Russia | Nasal formulation for neurological indications |
| Typical purity grade | 95% or higher by HPLC | Research material; higher grades used as reference standards |
Development of the compound took place in the Soviet Union during the 1980s, largely through peptide research groups affiliated with the Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute and Moscow State University. Investigators screened fragments of adrenocorticotropic hormone for activity on the central nervous system while attempting to separate cognitive effects from hormonal ones. The shortened sequence was selected because it retained behavioral activity in animal models without stimulating corticosteroid release. Early publications described the molecule as an ACTH(4-10) analog.
Published research on this peptide originates mainly from Russian laboratories, and the wider international literature is comparatively thin. Studies have used rodent models of stroke, hypoxia, and memory tasks, with a smaller number of human trials reported. Reported outcomes include changes in attention and memory measures, along with effects on neurotrophic factor expression in some experiments. Small sample sizes, inconsistent dosing protocols, and limited independent replication are widely noted limitations, so the strength of the clinical evidence remains an open question.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide whose sequence is Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. The first four residues correspond to the ACTH(4-10) fragment, while the terminal Pro-Gly-Pro extension was added to improve metabolic stability. Its molecular formula is C37H51N9O10S and its monoisotopic mass is approximately 813.9 Da. The compound is classified as a peptide research chemical and as a registered pharmaceutical product in Russia, but it does not hold marketing approval in the European Union or the United States. Naming conventions vary across supplier catalogs.
Lyophilised powder is normally kept at -20 °C in a desiccated container, with some suppliers recommending -80 °C for long-term archival storage. Repeated freeze-thaw cycles are the most common cause of avoidable loss, so aliquoting before freezing reduces variability between working sessions. Dissolved peptide is far less stable than the dry solid and is usually prepared fresh or held briefly at 4 °C. Aqueous solutions support both hydrolysis of the backbone and oxidation of the N-terminal methionine, and these two routes dominate degradation under ordinary laboratory conditions.
Identity and purity are confirmed with reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, typically monitored at 214 nanometres where the peptide bond absorbs. Mass spectrometry, either electrospray or MALDI-TOF, verifies molecular mass against the theoretical value and detects truncation or adduct formation. Amino acid analysis and peptide mapping provide additional confirmation when required. The most frequently reported impurities are deletion sequences from incomplete coupling, methionine sulfoxide from oxidation, and dimeric species formed through non-covalent aggregation. Impurity profiles depend strongly on the synthesis and purification route chosen by the producer.
该化合物于二十世纪八十年代在俄罗斯被开发，相关工作由俄罗斯科学院分子遗传学研究所的研究团队主导。开发目标并非复制 ACTH 的完整激素活性，而是寻找保留其神经作用方向、同时去除促肾上腺皮质激素释放效应的短肽片段。研究记录显示，这一方向促成了多个相关短肽的合成与筛选，而 Semax 是其中被研究最广泛的一个。当地文献常以 Семакс 这一名称指代它。
研究兴趣主要集中在神经营养因子相关的路径上，包括脑源性神经营养因子与神经生长因子的表达变化。部分实验报告称在特定条件下观察到这些因子的水平上升，但具体信号通路和剂量依赖关系仍未完全厘清。多数公开数据来自细胞模型和动物实验，人体对照研究数量有限。因此，该化合物的作用机制在文献中属于活跃讨论，而非已经确立的定论。
Semax 是一种人工合成的七肽，氨基酸序列为 Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro，单字母缩写记作 MEHFPGP。它被归类为促肾上腺皮质激素片段 ACTH(4-10) 的结构类似物，但并不天然存在于生物体内。母体片段 ACTH(4-10) 的序列为 Met-Glu-His-Phe-Arg-Trp-Gly，Semax 替换了中间两个残基，并在羧基端延长了 Pro-Gly-Pro 三肽。这种延长被普遍认为能提升分子对肽酶的耐受性。
纯度评估以反相高效液相色谱为主，通过主峰面积百分比给出粗略结果，再配合电喷雾质谱核对分子量。氨基酸分析可验证组成比例，手性色谱或毛细管电泳用于检查残基构型。常见杂质包括缺失序列的短肽、氧化产物与二聚体。由于多数市售品不附带完整检验报告，独立第三方检测常被用来核实标称值。
从分子层面看，Semax 是线性七肽，没有二硫键、糖基或脂链修饰，N 端为游离氨基，C 端为游离羧基。分子含组氨酸与谷氨酸侧链，因此在水和甲醇等极性溶剂中溶解良好，在非极性溶剂中溶解有限。计算分子量约为 814 Da，与其质子化离子的质荷比吻合，可用于质谱确认。
稳定性主要由水解与氧化两条路径支配。肽键在中性或弱酸性条件下相对稳定，遇到强碱或长时间高温则明显断裂；甲硫氨酸侧链容易被氧化成亚砜，使主峰前移并拉低实际含量。金属离子、光照和反复冻融会进一步促进降解或聚集。冻干粉在低温避光条件下可存放较长时间，配制后的水溶液通常需要冷藏并尽快用完。
=== Internet vendors === Selegiline in non-pharmaceutical form is sold on the Internet without a prescription by online vendors for uses such as purported cognitive enhancement (i.e., as a so-called "smart drug" or nootropic) and anti-aging effects. It is widely available for such purposes, for instance under informal brand names like Dep-Pro, Selepryl, and Cyprenil, which are oral liquid solutions of selegiline at a concentration of 1 mg per drop.
Francis Aston was born in Harborne, now part of Birmingham, on 1 September 1877. He was the third child and second son of William Aston and Fanny Charlotte Hollis. He was educated at the Harborne Vicarage School and later Malvern College in Worcestershire where he was a boarder. In 1893 Francis William Aston began his university studies at Mason College (which was then external college of University of London) where he was taught physics by John Henry Poynting and chemistry by Frankland and Tilden. From 1896 on he conducted additional research on organic chemistry in a private laboratory at his father's house. In 1898 he started as a student of Frankland financed by a Forster Scholarship; his work concerned optical properties of tartaric acid compounds. He started to work on fermentation chemistry at the school of brewing in Birmingham and was employed by W. Butler & Co. Brewery in 1900. This period of employment ended in 1903 when he returned to the University of Birmingham under Poynting as an Associate.
There are also several passages with chains that begin with the six sense spheres (ayatana). They can be found in SN 12. 24, SA 343, SA 352-354, SN 12. 13-14 and SN 12. 71-81. Another one of these is found in SN 35.106, which is termed the "branched version" by Bucknell because it branches off into six classes of consciousness:Eye consciousness arises dependent on the eye and sights. The meeting of the three is contact. Contact is a condition for feeling. Feeling is a condition for craving. This is the origin of suffering … [the same formula is repeated with the other six sense bases and six consciousnesses, that is, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind]Other depictions of the chain at SN 12.52 and its parallel at SA 286, begin with seeing the assada (taste; enjoyment; satisfaction) which leads to craving and the rest of the list of nidanas. Meanwhile, in SN 12.62 and SA 290, dependent origination is depicted with just two nidanas, contact (phassa) and feeling (vedana). SN 12.62 says that when one becomes disenchanted with contact and feeling, desire fades away.
Hsp20 also serves a significant role in preventing platelet aggregation, cardiac myocyte function and prevention of apoptosis after ischemic injury, and skeletal muscle function and muscle insulin response. Hsp27 is a major phosphoprotein during women's contractions. Hsp27 functions in small muscle migrations and appears to serve an integral role.
=== Microscopy === Another principal tool in the diagnosis of infectious disease is microscopy. Virtually all of the culture techniques discussed above rely, at some point, on microscopic examination for definitive identification of the infectious agent. Microscopy may be carried out with simple instruments, such as the compound light microscope, or with instruments as complex as an electron microscope. Samples obtained from patients may be viewed directly under the light microscope, and can often rapidly lead to identification. Microscopy is often also used in conjunction with biochemical staining techniques, and can be made exquisitely specific when used in combination with antibody based techniques. For example, the use of antibodies made artificially fluorescent (fluorescently labeled antibodies) can be directed to bind to and identify a specific antigens present on a pathogen. A fluorescence microscope is then used to detect fluorescently labeled antibodies bound to internalized antigens within clinical samples or cultured cells. This technique is especially useful in the diagnosis of viral diseases, where the light microscope is incapable of identifying a virus directly. Other microscopic procedures may also aid in identifying infectious agents. Almost all cells readily stain with a number of basic dyes due to the electrostatic attraction between negatively charged cellular molecules and the positive charge on the dye. A cell is normally transparent under a microscope, and using a stain increases the contrast of a cell with its background.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Russia and Belarus signed an agreement that formalized the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarusian territory, with control and usage over the weapons remaining in Russian hands. Shortly afterwards, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko confirmed that the transfer of weapons to the country had begun and later said countries joining the Union State would also be given nuclear weapons. The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it was expelling five Swedish diplomats from the country in retaliation for the expulsion of five Russian diplomats from Sweden in April 2023. It also summoned the German, Danish and Swedish ambassadors in protest over a "complete lack of results" in their investigations into the identity of the perpetrators of the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage. A Swedish appeals court upheld the conviction and life imprisonment of former security services and armed forces employee Peyman Kia for espionage on behalf of Russia. Finland announced it was sending additional military equipment to Ukraine, including anti-aircraft weaponry and ammunition worth 109 million euros ($120 million). Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said, during a visit to Vietnam, that he believed that the war with Ukraine could last a "very long time, most likely decades", with periods of truce and then conflict. Medvedev is currently the Deputy Chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
During embryonic development, migratory neural crest cells are generated by EMT involving the epithelial cells of the neuroectoderm. As a result, these cells dissociate from neural folds, gain motility, and disseminate to various parts of the embryo, where they differentiate to many other cell types. Also, craniofacial crest mesenchyme that forms the connective tissue forming the head and face, is formed by neural tube epithelium by EMT. EMT takes place during the construction of the vertebral column out of the extracellular matrix, which is to be synthesized by fibroblasts and osteoblasts that encircle the neural tube. The major source of these cells are sclerotome and somite mesenchyme as well as primitive streak. Mesenchymal morphology allows the cells to travel to specific targets in the embryo, where they differentiate and/or induce differentiation of other cells. During wound healing, keratinocytes at the border of the wound undergo EMT and undergo re-epithelialization or MET when the wound is closed. Snail2 expression at the migratory front influences this state, as its overexpression accelerates wound healing. Similarly, in each menstrual cycle, the ovarian surface epithelium undergoes EMT during post-ovulatory wound healing.
== History == Bradykinin was discovered in 1948 by three Brazilian physiologists and pharmacologists working at the Biological Institute, in São Paulo, Brazil, led by Dr. Maurício Rocha e Silva. Together with colleagues Wilson Teixeira Beraldo and Gastão Rosenfeld, they discovered the powerful hypotensive effects of bradykinin in animal preparations. Bradykinin was detected in the blood plasma of animals after the addition of venom extracted from the Bothrops jararaca (Brazilian lancehead snake), brought by Rosenfeld from the Butantan Institute. The discovery was part of a continuing study on circulatory shock and proteolytic enzymes related to the toxicology of snake bites, started by Rocha e Silva as early as 1939. Bradykinin was to prove a new autopharmacological principle, i.e., a substance that is released in the body by a metabolic modification from precursors, which are pharmacologically active. According to B.J. Hagwood, Rocha e Silva's biographer:The discovery of bradykinin has led to a new understanding of many physiological and pathological phenomena including circulatory shock induced by venoms and toxins. Bradykinin is cleaved by snake venom proteases. Based on this property, it can be used to screen herbal medicines for anti-venomous effects. The first comprehensive computational model of bradykinin was developed in the USSR in the mid-1970s by a team led by Stanislav Galaktionov.
it is believed to be the first prosecution of its kind. Dorset Police announce that no criminal offences were committed in relation to the 2023 Bournemouth beach incident in which two people were killed. 17 July – NHS consultants in England announce a further two days of strike action, on 24 and 25 August. 20 July – Parliamentary by-elections take place in Somerton and Frome, Uxbridge and South Ruislip, and Selby and Ainsty. 21 July – 21 July – July 2023 by-elections: Uxbridge and South Ruislip: The former seat of ex-PM Boris Johnson is held by the Conservatives, but with a reduced majority of 495 votes. Steve Tuckwell becomes the constituency's MP. The proposed ULEZ expansion by Labour's Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, is a factor in the result. Selby and Ainsty: Labour takes the formerly safe Conservative seat of Selby and Ainsty. The swing of 23.7% is the largest since 1945. Keir Mather becomes the constituency's new MP, and at 25, the youngest Member of Parliament and Baby of the House. Somerton and Frome: The Liberal Democrats take Somerton and Frome, overturning a Conservative majority of 29.6%. Sarah Dyke is elected as the constituency's new MP. Planned strikes on the London Underground from 23 to 28 July are called off following last minute talks between union representatives and Transport for London. The Association of School and College Leaders, which represents headteachers in England, votes to accept 6.5% pay rise.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Registered medical products are most often 0.1% nasal drops. Research suppliers ship lyophilized powder, usually in milligram quantities, which is dissolved before use. The active peptide is the same in both cases; presentation and excipients differ.
No. The peptide is synthetic, although it is modelled on a fragment of a naturally occurring hormone. ACTH(4-10) is generated when ACTH is cleaved, but the Pro-Gly-Pro extension is not a known endogenous sequence. It is therefore a designed analogue rather than a natural metabolite.
The label reflects reported effects on attention, memory and recovery after neurological injury in regional clinical reports. Those reports are mostly small and have not been widely replicated outside the region. The classification is descriptive and does not imply a single defined mechanism.
Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography is the standard method, with detection in the ultraviolet range. Peak area percentage yields a purity figure for the main component. Mass spectrometry is normally run alongside to confirm molecular identity.