Everything below concerns intranasal delivery. We keep the language plain, cite what the science says, and separate well-supported claims from open questions.
Last reviewed on 2025-12-22. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
The compound was developed in the 1980s at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow, where it emerged from research on short ACTH fragments and their effects on the central nervous system. Russian pharmaceutical listings describe it as a nootropic and neuroprotective agent, most often formulated as nasal drops. It is not a marketed medicine in the United States or the European Union, and no pharmacopoeial monograph covers it. Consequently, most published clinical experience with the substance originates from a small number of research centres, mainly in Russia and neighbouring countries.
Pharmacological accounts link semax to melanocortin signalling and to modulation of neurotrophic factor expression, particularly brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor. Much of this evidence comes from rodent studies using intranasal delivery, a route chosen because it allows peptides to reach the central nervous system with limited systemic exposure. Whether the same mechanisms operate in humans at comparable magnitude remains an open question. The precise receptor or receptors responsible for the reported behavioural and neuroprotective effects have not been conclusively identified.
Proposed mechanisms center on neurotrophic signaling rather than on classical melanocortin receptor activation. Rodent experiments have reported shifts in the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor after administration, together with changes in the associated receptor systems. Several authors argue that the peptide acts largely through its degradation products and their interaction with peptidergic pathways, but this remains a hypothesis rather than a settled finding. No single molecular target has been identified in a way that the field broadly accepts.
Published research covers ischemic stroke, traumatic brain injury, cognitive impairment, optic nerve conditions and attention-related measures. Much of the human evidence comes from small trials conducted in one country, which limits how far the results generalize. Animal models supply the larger share of the data, and effects seen in rodents do not transfer automatically to people. Reviews have noted that methodological reporting is often incomplete, making it difficult to pool results or compare treatment schedules across studies.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular formula | C37H51N9O10S | Free acid form of the heptapeptide; depends on terminal groups |
| Molecular mass | About 813.9 g/mol | Average mass used for mass spectrometry confirmation |
| Appearance | White to off-white solid | Supplied as a lyophilised powder; hygroscopic |
| Solubility class | Freely soluble in aqueous media | Water, saline, and phosphate buffers; limited organic solubility |
| Typical storage temperature | -20 degrees Celsius | Long term and dry; short working periods may use 2 to 8 degrees Celsius |
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. Its design combines the ACTH(4-7) core fragment with a C-terminal Pro-Gly-Pro extension, a modification intended to improve stability and prolong activity. The molecule is hydrophilic, carries no lipid chains or glycosylation, and has a theoretical mass just over 810 daltons in its free form. All seven residues are proteinogenic amino acids, so no non-natural building blocks appear in the backbone. A free N-terminal methionine and C-terminal proline define the unmodified parent peptide.
The compound was developed during the 1980s at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow as part of research on fragments of adrenocorticotropic hormone. Early work examined short ACTH-derived sequences that retained neurotrophic effects while lacking the endocrine activity of the full hormone. Semax entered clinical use in Russia during the 1990s, where it received registration for several neurological indications. Outside that region it remained primarily a laboratory research material rather than an approved therapeutic. English-language literature on it grew more slowly and frequently cited the original Russian studies.
Terminology around the compound varies by source. It appears in catalogues and papers as Semax, as the heptapeptide ACTH(4-7)-Pro-Gly-Pro, and under various alphanumeric laboratory codes used by individual suppliers. These names refer to the same sequence but may imply different salt forms, purity grades, or counter-ions. Peptide databases usually list the free base mass, while product descriptions sometimes report acetate or trifluoroacetate salts with a different formula weight. Because naming conventions for research peptides are not standardised across vendors, checking the declared sequence and measured mass is more reliable than relying on a trade name alone.
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.
The peptide is prone to several degradation pathways. Oxidation of the methionine residue produces a sulfoxide that elutes close to the parent peak in many chromatographic systems. Hydrolysis of peptide bonds and deamidation of susceptible residues in related sequences also reduce purity over time. Lyophilised material kept dry at minus twenty degrees Celsius and shielded from light is the most stable form commonly described in laboratory practice.
The C-terminal Pro-Gly-Pro extension is not incidental. Proline-rich tails are known to resist several common peptidases, and the published literature attributes the longer half-life of Semax, relative to unmodified ACTH fragments, to this feature. The modification also removes the melanocyte-stimulating and corticosteroidogenic activity that characterizes longer ACTH-derived sequences. Because the molecule is small and hydrophilic, it is typically formulated as an aqueous solution for intranasal or parenteral delivery. Acetylation or amidation at the termini appears in closely related research peptides and shifts the mass by a fixed increment.
Reported pharmacological work centers on neurotrophic signaling, including changes in BDNF and NGF expression in hippocampal tissue in animal models. Human data come largely from studies conducted in Russia, and how well those results generalize to other populations remains an open question. Regulatory status differs sharply by jurisdiction: Semax is a registered prescription medicine in Russia, while it holds no approved marketing status in the United States or the European Union. Outside such jurisdictions it is generally handled as a research chemical, which affects both documentation and quality expectations.
Since both natural rewards and addictive drugs induce expression of ΔFosB (i.e., they cause the brain to produce more of it), chronic acquisition of these rewards can result in a similar pathological state of addiction. ΔFosB is the most significant factor involved in both amphetamine addiction and amphetamine-induced sex addictions, which are compulsive sexual behaviors that result from excessive sexual activity and amphetamine use. These sex addictions (i.e., drug-induced compulsive sexual behaviors) are associated with a dopamine dysregulation syndrome which occurs in some patients taking dopaminergic drugs, such as amphetamine or methamphetamine.
8 May to 2 July The PAVN began bombarding Ben Het Camp and by early June it was besieged by PAVN forces. The base received extensive air and artillery support On 26 June 180 ARVN soldiers were airlifted into the camp and by 28 June the ARVN were conducting sweeps outside the camp perimeter to push back the PAVN. PAVN losses were estimated to be in excess of 1,000 killed, while Allied losses were approximately 300 killed, including approximately 30 U.S.
Isobaric labeling is a mass spectrometry strategy used in quantitative proteomics. Peptides or proteins are labeled with chemical groups that have nominally identical mass (isobaric), but vary in terms of distribution of heavy isotopes in their structure. These tags, commonly referred to as tandem mass tags, are designed so that the mass tag is cleaved at a specific linker region upon high-energy collision-induced dissociation (HCD) during tandem mass spectrometry yielding reporter ions of different masses. The most common isobaric tags are amine-reactive tags. However, tags that react with cysteine residues and carbonyl groups have also been described. These amine-reactive groups go through N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) reactions, which are based around three types of functional groups. Isobaric labeling methods include tandem mass tags (TMT), isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ), mass differential tags for absolute and relative quantification, and dimethyl labeling. TMTs and iTRAQ methods are most common and developed of these methods. Tandem mass tags have a mass reporter region, a cleavable linker region, a mass normalization region, and a protein reactive group and have the same total mass.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) is a form of liquid chromatography that is often used to analyze or purify mixtures of proteins. As in other forms of chromatography, separation is possible because the different components of a mixture have different affinities for two materials, a moving fluid (the mobile phase) and a porous solid (the stationary phase). In FPLC the mobile phase is an aqueous buffer solution. The buffer flow rate is controlled by a positive-displacement pump and is normally kept constant, while the composition of the buffer can be varied by drawing fluids in different proportions from two or more external reservoirs. The stationary phase is a resin composed of beads, usually of cross-linked agarose, packed into a cylindrical glass or plastic column. FPLC resins are available in a wide range of bead sizes and surface ligands depending on the application. FPLC was developed and marketed in Sweden by Pharmacia in 1982, and was originally called fast performance liquid chromatography to contrast it with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). FPLC is generally applied only to proteins; however, because of the wide choice of resins and buffers it has broad applications. In contrast to HPLC, the buffer pressure used is relatively low, typically less than 5 bar, but the flow rate is relatively high, typically 1–5 ml/min. FPLC can be readily scaled from analysis of milligrams of mixtures in columns with a total volume of 5 ml or less to industrial production of kilograms of purified protein in columns with volumes of many liters.
In 1879, Walther Hesse (1846-1911) and Friedrich Hugo Härting published the study "Lung Cancer, the Miners' Disease in the Schneeberg Mines". Hesse, a pathologist, was shocked by the poor health and young age of the miners. This particular form of bronchial carcinoma was given the name Schneeberg disease because it occurred among miners in the Schneeberg mines (Saxon Erz Mountains). When Hesse's report was published, radioactive radiation and the existence of radon were unknown. It was not until 1898 that Marie Curie-Skłodowska (1867-1934) and her husband Pierre Curie (1859-1906) discovered radium and created the concept of radioactivity. Beginning in the fall of 1898, Marie Curie suffered from inflammation of the fingertips, the first known symptoms of radiation sickness. In the Jáchymov mines, where silver and non-ferrous metals were mined from the 16th to the 19th century, uranium ore was mined in abundance in the 20th century. It was only during the Second World War that restrictions were imposed on ore mining in the Schneeberg and Jáchymov mines. After World War II, uranium mining was accelerated for the Soviet atomic bomb project and the emerging Soviet nuclear industry. Forced labor was used. Initially, these were German prisoners of war and displaced persons, and after the February Revolution of 1948, political prisoners were imprisoned by the Communist Party regime in Czechoslovakia, as well as conscripted civilian workers. Several "Czechoslovak gulags" were established in the area to house these workers.
== Life == Roderich Süssmuth studied chemistry and biochemistry at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen from 1990 to 1996. In 1999, he received his doctorate under Günther Jung in Tübingen with a dissertation entitled Isolation, structural elucidation, and synthesis of microbial metabolites from Amycolatopsis mediterranei, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Streptomyces lividans. During a postdoctoral stay at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, United States, from 2000 to 2001, he worked with Richard A. Lerner and Carlos F. Barbas on catalytic antibodies and organocatalysis. As an Emmy Noether Research Fellow (DFG) from 2001 to 2004, he completed his habilitation in chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Tübingen. In 2004, he was appointed Associate Professor of Biological Chemistry at TU Berlin. In 2008, he was appointed to the Rudolf Wiechert Professorship of Biological Chemistry at TU Berlin. In 2020, he was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) and an honorary member of the Israel Chemical Society. In 2022, he was admitted to the Confraternity of Santa Maria dell'Anima in Rome.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
== January 21, 1982 (Thursday) == By a margin of 55% to 45%, the 498,000 members of the Britain's national coal workers union voted to accept a 9.3% pay offer, despite the recommendation of union president-elect Arthur Scargill to reject the proposal. Died: Ned Irish, 76, American NBA team owner and founder of the New York Knicks, and enshrinee in the Basketball Hall of Fame. William Luneberg, 69, president of the American Motors Corporation (AMC) who developed the company as the fourth largest automaker in the U.S. (after General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler Corporation)
Vasodilators are increased (such as nitric oxide and carbon monoxide) reducing afterload with compensatory increase in cardiac output, mixed venous oxygen saturation. Renin is increased (as well as sodium retention in kidneys) secondary to a fall in systemic vascular resistance. FibroTest is a biomarker for fibrosis that may be used instead of a biopsy. Other laboratory studies performed in newly diagnosed cirrhosis may include:
=== Historic and laboratory routes === Fumaric acid was first prepared from succinic acid. A traditional synthesis involves oxidation of furfural (from the processing of maize) using chlorate in the presence of a vanadium-based catalyst.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
It is described as a synthetic analogue of the ACTH(4–10) fragment, a short segment of adrenocorticotropic hormone. Its sequence differs from that fragment and includes two proline residues, which influence stability and behaviour in solution.
It appears in Russian pharmaceutical listings as a nasal formulation, but it is not an authorised medicine in the United States or the European Union. Outside those markets it is normally encountered as a research chemical rather than a prescription product.
Laboratory and animal work points to melanocortin signalling and changes in neurotrophic factor levels, especially brain-derived neurotrophic factor. The exact receptor targets and the degree to which these findings transfer to humans are still unresolved.
The main proposal is modulation of neurotrophic factors such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, supported largely by animal experiments. Receptor-level targets have not been firmly established. Most reviews describe the mechanism as only partially characterized.