N-acetyl Semax is one of those subjects where the details matter more than the headlines. This page pulls together the background, the mechanisms, and the practical points readers ask about most.
Updated 2025-07-31. Numbers and descriptions here follow the published literature rather than marketing material.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. It corresponds to the ACTH(4-7) fragment extended at the C-terminus by a Pro-Gly-Pro tripeptide, an addition intended to slow enzymatic breakdown. The molecular formula is C37H51N9O10S and the molecular mass is approximately 814 daltons. In the literature it is often described as an ACTH(4-10) analog, although that label reflects a naming convention as much as a precise structural relationship. The compound was developed in Russia and remains most closely associated with that research tradition.
Laboratory descriptions of the material are consistent across suppliers. It appears as a white to off-white lyophilized powder that dissolves readily in water and in polar organic solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide. Aqueous solutions are clear and colorless at low concentrations. Because the peptide contains methionine, oxidation at the sulfur atom is a recognized degradation pathway, and handling notes usually call for protected, desiccated storage. Reported purity for research-grade lots is generally above 95 percent as measured by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.
The compound is registered in Russia as a pharmaceutical product, most commonly formulated as a nasal solution, and has been used in that setting since the 1990s. Outside that jurisdiction it is generally handled as a research chemical rather than an approved medicine. Regulatory status therefore differs sharply between countries, and material sold internationally may not correspond to the Russian pharmaceutical formulation. Documentation with commercial samples is typically limited to a certificate of analysis covering purity and identity, not clinical status or local legal classification.
Identity and purity are commonly assessed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, with ultraviolet detection near 214 nanometers for the peptide backbone. Mass spectrometry, either electrospray or matrix-assisted laser desorption, confirms molecular mass and detects truncation or modification products. Amino acid analysis can verify composition. Because the sequence contains no strongly absorbing aromatic residue apart from phenylalanine, detection wavelengths are chosen carefully. Purity values above 95 percent are typical for research-grade material.
Quality documentation for research-grade peptide usually includes a certificate of analysis stating purity, identity, and residual counterion content. Batch-to-batch variation in purity and salt form is a recognized issue, and comparisons across suppliers require attention to the exact counterion, for example acetate versus trifluoroacetate. Sequence verification by tandem mass spectrometry provides stronger evidence than a single mass measurement. For any study reporting biological results, the analytical method and the measured purity should be stated explicitly. Independent verification of supplier claims is considered good practice.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular formula | C37H51N9O10S | Contains one methionine sulfur atom |
| Molecular mass | Approximately 814 Da | Consistent with a seven-residue peptide |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Typical lyophilized form |
| Solubility | Freely soluble in water | Also soluble in dimethyl sulfoxide |
| Typical storage | -20 °C, desiccated | Limits methionine oxidation |
Clinical reports describe use in ischaemic stroke, transient ischaemic attack, optic nerve conditions, and cognitive complaints, but most of these studies are small and were conducted in a single region. Systematic reviews have generally described the evidence base as limited in size and variable in methodological quality. Randomised controlled data suitable for international regulatory assessment are scarce. As a result, major treatment guidelines outside Russia do not include the peptide, and interest in it remains largely research-driven rather than routine clinical.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. It is described in the literature as an analogue of the ACTH(4–10) fragment, a short N-terminal portion of adrenocorticotropic hormone that retains some neurotropic activity without the full hormonal effects of the parent peptide. The molecule carries a methionine residue at the N-terminus and two proline residues near the C-terminus, features that shape both its interactions with receptor systems and its chemical stability. The free peptide corresponds to the formula C37H51N9O10S and a molecular mass near 813.9 Da.
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.
Claims about enhanced focus, memory, or mood in healthy people rest mostly on anecdotal reports and community discussion rather than on controlled data. It remains unclear whether any cognitive benefit observed in patients recovering from brain injury would extend to uninjured users. Dose-response relationships, long-term safety, and interactions with other drugs are not well characterized in the peer-reviewed literature. Questions about optimal route of administration and treatment duration likewise remain open.
Semax binds to melanocortin receptors and is thought to influence neuronal survival and plasticity rather than to act through the adrenal axis. Laboratory work has shown increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor in treated tissue. Changes in c-Fos, a marker of neuronal activation, have also been reported. Because the peptide is rapidly degraded by peptidases, its effects are generally attributed to downstream signaling cascades rather than to sustained receptor occupancy.
Regulatory status differs sharply between jurisdictions. In Russia the peptide is registered as a prescription nasal preparation, while agencies such as the United States Food and Drug Administration have not approved it for any indication. Products sold elsewhere are typically labeled for laboratory research only, and such labels shift responsibility for safe handling to the purchaser. Because the same name covers pharmaceutical-grade nasal drops and bulk research powder, identity and purity documentation becomes the main practical concern when comparing sources.
Semax is a synthetic seven-amino-acid peptide whose sequence extends the ACTH(4-10) fragment with a C-terminal proline-glycine-proline tripeptide. The commonly cited sequence is Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro, giving a molecular formula near C37H51N9O10S and a molecular weight close to 813.9 g/mol. It belongs to the broader class of synthetic ACTH fragments studied for central nervous system effects rather than for adrenal steroid stimulation. In practice the material appears as a lyophilized white powder for laboratory work or as a dilute saline solution in clinical settings.
Development is attributed to researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow during the early 1980s, building on earlier Soviet work with ACTH fragments. Russian regulatory approval followed for intranasal use, and the compound has remained commercially available there for decades. Most published human data originate from Russian and, later, some Eastern European clinical reports, which are not always accessible in English translation. Outside that region the material is generally handled as a research chemical rather than a licensed medicine.
=== Russia and Ukraine === From 2013 to 2022 Galloway was a presenter on the Russian state-controlled television network RT. Galloway called the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution a Western-backed "coup" and a "foreign financed invasion of the sovereignty of Ukraine". He believes Russia's annexation of Crimea was legitimate, because he said the disputed 2014 Crimean status referendum showed that "the huge majority of people in Crimea wanted to leave Ukraine". In a 2016 interview of Nigel Farage, Galloway said "I respect Putin and I think he's very popular in Russia". When Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned in August 2020, Galloway claimed on RT that Navalny was a white supremacist. In early 2022, Galloway dismissed claims that Russia was about to invade Ukraine, writing "I told you it wasn't. You were wrong. I was right". When Russia invaded Ukraine ten days later, he said the invasion was "not what I wanted", but he blamed the invasion on "the West" and accused it of "Pumping Ukraine full of NATO weapons, mercenaries and propaganda". He suggested that the Bucha massacre was staged. Galloway was accused of being an apologist and propagandist for Russian president Vladimir Putin by the larger political parties. Jamie Blackett ended their political alliance All for Unity over their disagreement on Ukraine. The Scottish Liberal Democrats leader, Alex Cole-Hamilton, called Galloway "an apologist for Russian expansionist aggression" and said that Galloway's "association with RT has lent legitimacy and influence to the propaganda apparatus of a hostile power".
== Venom == Bites from H. hypnale, although previously thought to be innocuous, are now known to cause serious complications such as coagulopathy and acute renal failure (ARF). If not treated within a few hours, bites can potentially be fatal for human beings. While not initially included in the list of highly venomous snakes in Sri Lanka, it is now considered highly venomous, and one of the medically important venomous snakes in Sri Lanka and on the south western coast of India. As of November 2016, an antivenom is currently being developed by the Costa Rican Clodomiro Picado Institute, and clinical trial phase in Sri Lanka.
adenosine (A) One of the four standard nucleosides used in RNA molecules, consisting of an adenine base with its N9 nitrogen bonded to the C1 carbon of a ribose sugar. Adenine bonded to deoxyribose is known as deoxyadenosine, which is the version used in DNA.
In the 1930s and early 1940s, several major federal programs provided some relief to Knoxvillians suffering amidst the Depression. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which wealthy Knoxvillians had led the drive to create, opened in 1932. In 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was established with its headquarters in Knoxville, its initial purpose being to control flooding and improve navigation in the Tennessee River watershed, and provide electricity to the area. During World War II, the construction of Manhattan Project facilities in nearby Oak Ridge brought thousands of federal workers to the area, and helped boost Knoxville's economy.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Opioid prescriptions in the US increased from 76 million in 1991 to 207 million in 2013. In the 1990s, opioid prescribing increased significantly. Once used almost exclusively for the treatment of acute pain or pain due to cancer, opioids are now prescribed liberally for people experiencing chronic pain. This has been accompanied by rising rates of accidental addiction and accidental overdoses leading to death. According to the International Narcotics Control Board, the United States and Canada lead the per capita consumption of prescription opioids. The number of opioid prescriptions per capita in the United States and Canada is double the consumption in the European Union, Australia, and New Zealand. Certain populations have been affected by the opioid addiction crisis more than others, including First World communities and low-income populations. Public health specialists say that this may result from the unavailability or high cost of alternative methods for addressing chronic pain. Opioids have been described as a cost-effective treatment for chronic pain, but the impact of the opioid epidemic and deaths caused by opioid overdoses should be considered in assessing their cost-effectiveness. Data from 2017 suggest that in the U.S. about 3.4 percent of the U.S. population are prescribed opioids for daily pain management. Calls for opioid deprescribing have led to broad scale opioid tapering practices with little scientific evidence to support the safety or benefit for patients with chronic pain.
== History == Following the discovery in 1952 that the tuberculosis drug iproniazid elevated the mood of people taking it, and the subsequent discovery that the effect was likely due to inhibition of monoamine oxidase (MAO) and elevation of monoamine neurotransmitters in the brain, many people and companies started trying to discover monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) to use as antidepressants. Deprenyl, the racemic form of selegiline, was synthesized and discovered by Zoltan Ecseri at the Chinoin Pharmaceutical Company (part of Sanofi since 1993) in Budapest, Hungary. Chinoin received a patent on the drug in 1962 and the compound was first published in the scientific literature in English in 1965. Chinoin researchers had been studying substituted amphetamines since 1960, and decided to try synthesizing amphetamines that acted as MAOIs. It had been known that methamphetamine was a reversible inhibitor of MAO. Deprenyl, also known as N-propargyl-N-methylamphetamine, is closely related to and inspired by pargyline (N-propargyl-N-methylbenzylamine), another MAOI that had been synthesized earlier. Deprenyl was initially referred to by the chemical name phenylisopropylmethylpropinylamine and the developmental code name E-250. Work on the biology and effects of E-250 in animals and humans was conducted by a group led by József Knoll at Semmelweis University, which was also in Budapest. Deprenyl is a racemic compound (a mixture of two isomers called enantiomers).
The Economist reports that China has become a "scientific superpower", citing numerous examples of its rapid development across a wide range of fields. 20 June – Following a surge in population of the Iberian lynx – from 62 mature individuals in 2001 to 648 in 2022 – the International Union for Conservation of Nature removes the animal from its "endangered" list, classing the animal as "vulnerable" instead. 24 June – The discovery of three Super-Earth candidates around HD 48948, a K-type dwarf star located 55 light-years away, is reported. One planet lies within the habitable zone. 25 June – China's Chang'e 6 lunar exploration mission successfully returns to Earth after taking rock and soil samples from the far side of the Moon. The orbiter proceeded on a mission to carry out observations at Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2 after dropping the sample off to Earth. Promising results of health and medical research are reported: a blood AI test of plasma proteins that predicts Parkinson's disease up to 7 years before symptom onset (18 June), walking programs as a cost-effective method against lower back pain recurrence (19 June). Hazard research is published: a study finds toxic metals including lead and arsenic in tampons (22 June), and a study indicates ocean water intrusion causing Antarctic ice-sheet grounding zones melting is a further tipping point in the climate system (25 June).
Dichloroacetylene (DCA) is an organochlorine compound with the formula C2Cl2. It is a colorless, pyrophoric, explosive liquid that has a sweet and "disagreeable" odor. Dichloroacetylene is neurotoxic, hepatotoxic, nephrotoxic and possibly carcinogenic.
Polymyxins are antibiotics. Polymyxins B and E (also known as colistin) are used in the treatment of Gram-negative bacterial infections. They work mostly by breaking up the bacterial cell membrane. They are part of a broader class of molecules called nonribosomal peptides. They are produced in nature by Gram-positive bacteria such as Paenibacillus polymyxa.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Column selection === The choice of column depends on the sample and the active measured. The main chemical attribute regarded when choosing a column is the polarity of the mixture, but functional groups can play a large part in column selection. The polarity of the sample must closely match the polarity of the column stationary phase to increase resolution and separation while reducing run time. The separation and run time also depends on the film thickness (of the stationary phase), the column diameter and the column length.
=== Distribution, phenology, and ecology === Fungarium records provide a historical record of global biodiversity that can be linked to environmental change. Georeferenced metadata allow researchers to connect specimens to historical climate and land-use databases such as WorldClim. Analysis of collection dates in Europe has revealed delays in the autumnal fruiting season and a general widening of the season for saprotrophic fungi. Specimens have also been used to trace invasive species; for example, the introduction and spread of Amanita phalloides in the western United States was reconstructed using DNA from collections spanning a century. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of sporocarps in the genus Ramaria has confirmed their nutritional modes and roles in carbon cycling. Although many historical records lack geographic coordinates or contain only vague locality descriptions, retrospective georeferencing can make older specimens more useful for spatial analyses such as species distribution modelling, provided the associated uncertainty is documented.
Hyperglycemic glucose clamp investigations Frequently-sampled intravenous glucose tolerance testing (IVGTT or FSIGT) Frequently-sampled oral glucose tolerance testing (OGTT or FSOGT) Simultaneous fasting measurements of insulin and glucose in conjunction with mathematical modelling (SPINA) If clamp investigations are used the disposition index is defined as the product of the area under the insulin response curve (
The history of penicillin traces how observations of antibiotic activity in the mould Penicillium led to the development of penicillins, a family of widely used antibiotics. Ancient societies used moulds to treat infections, and many people observed the inhibition of bacterial growth by moulds. While working at St Mary's Hospital in London in 1928, Scottish physician Alexander Fleming was the first to show experimentally that a Penicillium mould secretes an antibacterial substance, which he named "penicillin". The mould was found to be a variant of Penicillium chrysogenum (now called Penicillium rubens), a contaminant of a bacterial culture in his laboratory. The work on penicillin at St Mary's ended in 1929. In 1939, a team of scientists at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at the University of Oxford, led by Howard Florey, which included Edward Abraham, Ernst Chain, Mary Ethel Florey, Norman Heatley and Margaret Jennings, began researching penicillin. They developed a method for cultivating the mould and extracting, purifying and storing penicillin from it, together with an assay for measuring its purity. "Penicillin" now became the name of the active ingredient in the mould juice. They carried out experiments on animals to determine penicillin's safety and effectiveness before conducting clinical trials and field tests. They derived penicillin's chemical formula and determined how it works. The private sector and the United States Department of Agriculture located and produced new strains and developed mass production techniques.
=== ColdFusion 4 === Released in Nov 1998, version 4 is when the name was changed from "Cold Fusion" to "ColdFusion" - possibly to distinguish it from Cold fusion theory. The release also added the initial implementation of cfscript, support for locking (cflock), transactions (cftransaction), hierarchical exception handling (cftry/cfcatch), sandbox security, as well as many new tags and functions, including cfstoredproc, cfcache, cfswitch, and more.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
It is registered as a pharmaceutical product in Russia, where it is typically supplied as a nasal solution. In most other countries it is not an approved drug and is traded as a research chemical instead. Approval status depends entirely on the jurisdiction involved.
Most published work uses intranasal administration, matching the route of the registered Russian formulation. Some animal experiments use intravenous or intraperitoneal injection. The route matters because the intact peptide is cleared rapidly from blood, so exposure differs between methods.
A purity value describes the share of the powder accounted for by the target peptide, usually by high-performance liquid chromatography. It does not confirm that the sequence is correct, which requires mass spectrometry or amino acid analysis. Purity and identity are separate checks.
Solid peptide is best kept frozen at about minus 20 degrees Celsius in a sealed container with desiccant. It should be allowed to reach room temperature before opening to prevent condensation. Repeated warming and cooling of the same vial is discouraged.