If you have been reading about ACTH fragment and want a single page that covers the useful parts, this is it: definitions, context, how it is studied, and the questions that come up repeatedly.
Updated 2025-11-12. Numbers and descriptions here follow the published literature rather than marketing material.
常规纯度与身份确认依赖反相高效液相色谱，并辅以质谱测定分子量。氨基酸组成分析可用于验证序列构成，肽图分析则能进一步定位修饰或降解产物。杂质谱通常关注缺失序列肽、截短片段和氧化产物。不同方法的检出限并不相同，因此各实验室报告的纯度数值不宜直接横向比较。
多数实验室与市售的 Semax 以冻干粉形式提供。冻干粉通常建议保存在 -20 °C 或更低温度下，同时避免光照与反复升温。短期运输有时采用冷藏条件，但长期保存仍以冷冻为主。分包操作应尽量减少开盖次数，以降低吸湿和微生物污染的风险。开封后若未一次用完，建议在干燥环境中密封并尽快放回低温储存。
Clinical evidence consists largely of small trials with modest sample sizes, often without independent replication. Reported endpoints include cognitive scores, recovery after stroke, and visual function, but study designs vary widely and few trials meet contemporary reporting standards. Systematic reviewers have noted a high risk of bias in several of these reports. No large multicenter trial conducted outside Russia has been published. The compound is therefore best described as investigational in most jurisdictions, with its clinical role still unresolved.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. Its chain combines the first seven residues of corticotropin with a C-terminal proline-glycine-proline extension, a modification intended to slow enzymatic breakdown. The free peptide has a molecular mass near 813.9 daltons. It belongs to the class of ACTH-derived fragments studied for central nervous system activity rather than for adrenal steroid stimulation. This structural relationship to a natural hormone fragment is the usual starting point for describing the compound in the literature.
Development took place during the 1980s at institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where peptide fragments of ACTH were screened for cognitive and neuroprotective effects. The compound received regulatory approval in Russia as a nasal preparation, marketed for conditions such as ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attacks, and optic nerve disorders. Registration in other countries has not followed. Most published clinical reports originate from a small number of Russian research groups, and independent replication outside that setting remains limited. The regulatory status therefore differs sharply between Russia and the rest of the world.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 外观 | 白色至类白色粉末 | 常见于冻干制剂 |
| 溶解度 | 易溶于水 | 在极性溶剂中一般也可溶 |
| 建议储存温度 | -20 °C | 冻干粉，避光密封 |
| 常见分析手段 | 反相高效液相色谱 | 常与质谱联用 |
| 主要降解路径 | 水解与氧化 | 溶液状态更显著 |
Dissolution is normally performed in water, phosphate-buffered saline, or normal saline, since the peptide is freely soluble in aqueous media and is rarely handled with strong organic solvents. Solution pH should be kept near neutral, because extreme acidity or alkalinity accelerates backbone hydrolysis and encourages oxidation of the methionine side chain. Once dissolved, the material is less stable than the dry powder and is commonly divided into single-use portions and frozen. Buffers containing primary amines, such as Tris, are often avoided because of possible side reactions.
Purity assessment relies mainly on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, which separates the target heptapeptide from truncated sequences, deletion analogues, and oxidised forms. Mass spectrometry, usually coupled to liquid chromatography, confirms identity through the expected molecular ion and reveals modifications such as methionine sulfoxide formation. Amino acid analysis can verify composition, and tandem mass spectrometry supports sequence confirmation. Ultraviolet detection near 254 to 280 nanometres is convenient because the phenylalanine and histidine residues absorb in that region. Nuclear magnetic resonance is rarely used for routine release testing.
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.
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.
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.
Published studies are dominated by animal models of stroke, ischemia, and cognitive impairment, with a smaller number of human trials conducted in Russia. Many of the human reports are small, single-center, and published in Russian-language journals, which limits independent scrutiny. Outcome measures vary between studies and often rely on clinician-rated scales rather than objective biomarkers. Systematic reviews have noted the methodological weaknesses and called for larger, preregistered trials before firm conclusions can be drawn.
Environmental scientists use ecosystem monitoring in the field to gather reliable data with minimal disturbance. In medicine, especially oncology, carcinoma in situ describes early-stage cancers that remain localized at their site of origin. Space exploration relies on in situ methods to conduct direct observational studies and data collection on celestial bodies, avoiding the challenges of sample-return missions. In archaeology, in situ generally refers to artifacts and features found in undisturbed depositional settings, where recording spatial and stratigraphic relationships preserves information about past human activities. In art, in situ refers to works created or displayed in dialogue with their surroundings: site-specific projects, such as environmental sculptures or architectural installations, are conceived for particular locations.
As a standard method for analysis, mass spectrometers have reached other planets and moons. Two were taken to Mars by the Viking program. In early 2005 the Cassini–Huygens mission delivered a specialized GC-MS instrument aboard the Huygens probe through the atmosphere of Titan, the largest moon of the planet Saturn. This instrument analyzed atmospheric samples along its descent trajectory and was able to vaporize and analyze samples of Titan's frozen, hydrocarbon covered surface once the probe had landed. These measurements compare the abundance of isotope(s) of each particle comparatively to earth's natural abundance. Also on board the Cassini–Huygens spacecraft was an ion and neutral mass spectrometer which had been taking measurements of Titan's atmospheric composition as well as the composition of Enceladus' plumes. A Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer mass spectrometer was carried by the Mars Phoenix Lander launched in 2007. Mass spectrometers are also widely used in space missions to measure the composition of plasmas. For example, the Cassini spacecraft carried the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS), which measured the mass of ions in Saturn's magnetosphere.
By 1818, the United States Navy had outlined that each sailor was to be given 14 ounces (400 g) of bread per day as part of their daily ration while serving onboard in the form of hardtack. The procurement of these stores was the responsibility of the ship's Purser, and was not strictly outlined by the Board of Navy Commissioners. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), three-by-three-inch (7.6 by 7.6 cm) hardtack was shipped from Union and Confederate storehouses. Civil War soldiers generally found their rations to be unappealing; hardtack's ability to host worms earned it the "worm castles" nickname, and soldiers joked about the poor quality of the hardtack in the satirical song "Hard Tack Come Again No More". The song was sung to the tune of the Stephen Foster song "Hard Times Come Again No More", and featured lyrics describing the hardtack rations as being 'old and very wormy' and causing many 'stomachs sore'. John Billings, a soldier in the 10th Massachusetts Battery, outlines many details on how hardtack was utilized during the war in his book Hard Tack and Coffee.
The beneficial effect of exercise on hyperinsulinemia was shown in a study in 2009, where they found that improving fitness through exercise significantly decreases blood insulin concentrations. Moreover, a diet that consists of high amounts of carbs have been linked to weight gain and obesity in rodents. Although this has not been tested in humans, it is assumed that it could aid with the prevention of weight gain in humans, and possibly obesity. Medications have also been studied to treat hyperinsulinemia, although these might have some side effects, these could be used as an alternative.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Redox === Hydroquinone can be reversibly oxidised under mild conditions to give benzoquinone. Naturally occurring hydroquinone derivatives, such as coenzyme Q, exhibit similar reactivity, wherein one hydroxyl group is exchanged for an amino group. Given the conditional reversibility and relative ubiquity of reagents, oxidation reactions of hydroquinones and hydroquinone derivatives are of significant commercial use, often used at an industrial scale. When colorless hydroquinone and benzoquinone—bright yellow in solid form—are cocrystallized at a 1:1 ratio, a dark-green crystalline charge-transfer complex (melting point 171 °C), known as quinhydrone (C6H6O2·C6H4O2), is formed. This complex dissolves in hot water, dissociating both quinone molecules in solution.
Cold-seep communities in the western Atlantic Ocean have also been described from a few dives on mud volcanoes and diapirs between 1,000 and 5,000 m (3,300–16,400 ft) depth in the Barbados accretionary prism area and from the Blake Ridge diapir off North Carolina. More recently, seep communities have been discovered in the eastern Atlantic, on a giant pockmark cluster in the Gulf of Guinea near the Congo deep channel, and also on other pockmarks of the Congo margin, Gabon margin and Nigeria margin and in the Gulf of Cádiz. The occurrence of chemosymbiotic biota in the extensive mud volcano fields of the Gulf of Cádiz was first reported in 2003. The chemosymbiotic bivalves collected from the mud volcanoes of the Gulf of Cadiz were reviewed in 2011. Cold seeps are also known from the Northern Atlantic Ocean, even ranging into the Arctic Ocean, off Canada and Norway. Extensive faunal sampling has been conducted from 400 and 3,300 m (1,300–10,800 ft) in the Atlantic Equatorial Belt from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of Guinea including the Barbados accretionary prism, the Blake Ridge diapir, and in the Eastern Atlantic from the Congo and Gabon margins and the recently explored Nigeria margin during Census of Marine Life ChEss project. Of the 72 taxa identified at the species level, a total of 9 species or species complexes are identified as amphi-Atlantic. The Atlantic Equatorial Belt seep megafauna community structure is influenced primarily by depth rather than by geographic distance.
== History == The use of banana powder in baby formula has been widespread since the very early 1900s as a method of keeping babies healthy. In 1916 it was also considered to be one of the "important industries of the West Indies" during this period, along with dried banana "figs". The United Fruit Company began to produce a product named Melzo during the 1930s, in which banana powder was the main ingredient. Because of the useful properties of banana powder, Melzo was marketed as a "health food for children and old folks, as a corrective for certain indigestions, and as a revitalizer for all who are sluggish mentally or physically".
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
==== International law ==== Law professor Mary Ellen O'Connell said that the strike "violated fundamental principles of international law". Luke Moffett of Queen's University Belfast, also a law professor, stated that striking the ship without grounds of self-defense could be extrajudicial killing. In October, the Associated Press stated that the Trump administration is "treating alleged drug traffickers as unlawful combatants who must be met with military force". Regarding the 2 September strike, Geoffrey Corn, former senior adviser on the law of war to the US Army, said "I don't think there is any way to legitimately characterize a drug ship heading from Venezuela, arguably to Trinidad, as an actual or imminent armed attack against the United States, justifying this military response." George W. Bush administration legal figure John Yoo has also questioned the legality of the strikes arguing that "There has to be a line between crime and war." Obama era legal figure Harold Hongju Koh said that the strikes were "lawless, dangerous and reckless". Former chief White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter called the strikes a violation of international and federal law. Unnamed sources told The New York Times and the Washington Post that the US military used a plane during the first strike in September 2025 that was part of a US Air Force fleet painted to look like civilian aircraft.
== External links == AMS Facilities of the World at the Wayback Machine (archived 4 March 2016), compiled by Walter Kutschera (to the best of his knowledge), VERA Lab, Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Austria.
== Interactions == The enzymes in NexoBrid inhibit the liver enzymes CYP2C8 and CYP2C9 when ingested. These are involved in the breaking down of a number of drugs, including amiodarone, chloroquine, ibuprofen, and warfarin. It is not known whether this mechanism has any clinical relevance.
=== Televisions === QLED TVs have been starting to include cadmium in construction. Some companies have been looking to reduce the environmental impact of human exposure and pollution of the material in televisions during production.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
一般不建议常温长期保存。多数说明指向 -20 °C 冷冻避光。常温运输通常被视为短期可接受，但会加快降解风险。
公开资料对此没有统一答案。普遍建议现配现用，或冷藏并在数日内用完。含甲硫氨酸的序列更易氧化，放置时间越长风险越高。
反相高效液相色谱是最常用的手段，配合质谱确认分子量。氨基酸组成分析和肽图分析可补充序列层面的验证。
Semax is a synthetic seven-amino-acid peptide derived from a fragment of corticotropin. It is used in Russia as a nasal preparation, while elsewhere it is studied as a research compound. It is not approved as a medicine in most countries.