This is a working overview of heptapeptide, written for readers who want more than a one-paragraph summary but less than a textbook.
This page was last updated on 2025-08-15 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.
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.
Laboratory work points toward modulation of neurotrophic signaling, particularly expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor in hippocampal tissue. Studies also describe effects on monoamine turnover, inflammatory mediators, and oxidative markers. These observations come mainly from animal models and cultured cells, so the causal chain in humans is not firmly established. Whether the reported molecular changes translate into measurable clinical benefit is an open question. Reviews generally present the mechanism as plausible rather than demonstrated.
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.
The parent fragment ACTH(4-10) carries the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Arg-Trp-Gly. Semax replaces the arginine and tryptophan positions with a proline-glycine-proline tail, giving Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. That change removes residues associated with adrenal stimulation, so the peptide does not drive cortisol release the way full ACTH does. This distinction shapes how the compound is grouped in the literature, where it sits with neuropeptides and peptide neuromodulators rather than with corticosteroids.
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.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sequence | Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro | Heptapeptide; ACTH(4-10) analog extended at C-terminus |
| Molecular mass | ~813.9 Da | Free peptide, unmodified |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Typical lyophilized solid |
| Solubility | Soluble in water and saline | Also soluble in common aqueous buffers |
| Storage (solid) | -20 °C, desiccated | Protect from moisture and repeated thawing |
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.
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.
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.
reduced riboflavin + NADP+ Thus, the two products of this enzyme are reduced riboflavin and NADP+, whereas its 3 substrates are riboflavin, NADPH, and H+. This enzyme belongs to the family of oxidoreductases, specifically those acting on the CH-NH group of donors with NAD+ or NADP+ as acceptor. The systematic name of this enzyme class is reduced-riboflavin:NADP+ oxidoreductase. Other names in common use include flavine mononucleotide (FMN) reductase, FMN reductase (NADPH), NADPH-dependent FMN reductase, NADPH-flavin reductase, NADPH-FMN reductase, NADPH-specific FMN reductase, NADPH2 dehydrogenase (flavin), NADPH2:riboflavin oxidoreductase, NADPH:flavin oxidoreductase, riboflavin mononucleotide reductase, riboflavine mononucleotide reductase and riboflavin mononucleotide (reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, phosphate) reductase.
transcriptome The entire set of RNA molecules (often referring to all types of RNA but sometimes exclusively to messenger RNA) that is or can be expressed by a particular genome, cell, population of cells, or species at a particular time or under particular conditions. The transcriptome is distinct from the exome and the translatome.
== Structure == These proteins are characterized by having three disulfide bonds in a characteristic motif. Some family members have an additional disulfide bond also in a conserved location. All of these proteins have a helical segment (corresponding to B chain in insulin) followed by a variable-length chain, followed by a domain (A chain in insulin) with two helices pinned against each other via a disulfide bond. These two regions are linked by two or three disulfide bonds. Amongst the different proteins in the family, very little of the sequence is conserved except for the disulfide bonds. The variable-length chains may exhibit large inter-species variation even when the remainder of the sequence is highly conserved; and as is in the case of insulin, sometimes the variable length chain is cleaved out by secretory endoproteases, leaving a two-chain protein held together by disulfide bonds.
Skoropadskyi himself supported the idea of reviving the Cossack class in Ukraine as a privileged social group personally loyal to the hetman. However, his initiative was viewed with skepticism by his ministers, and the law on re-establishment of Cossack administration in Ukraine was adopted only in October 1918, shortly before the hetman's resignation, and never realized. - During Skoropadskyi's tenure in power the Ukrainian State developed diplomatic ties with Cossack entities in the Kuban and Don region.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Atomic and molecular physics === Some atomic energy levels are metastable. Rydberg atoms are an example of metastable excited atomic states. Transitions from metastable excited levels are typically those forbidden by electric dipole selection rules. This means that any transitions from this level are relatively unlikely to occur. In a sense, an electron that happens to find itself in a metastable configuration is trapped there. Since transitions from a metastable state are not impossible (merely less likely), the electron will eventually decay to a less energetic state, typically by an electric quadrupole transition, or often by non-radiative de-excitation (e.g., collisional de-excitation). This slow-decay property of a metastable state is apparent in phosphorescence, the kind of photoluminescence seen in glow-in-the-dark toys that can be charged by first being exposed to bright light. Whereas spontaneous emission in atoms has a typical timescale on the order of 10−8 seconds, the decay of metastable states can typically take milliseconds to minutes, and so light emitted in phosphorescence is usually both weak and long-lasting.
A miniature mass spectrometer (MMS) is a type of mass spectrometer (MS) which has small size and weight and can be understood as a portable or handheld device. What it means to be portable and a set of criteria by which portable and miniature mass spectrometers can be assessed have been discussed in detail. Current lab-scale mass spectrometers however, usually weigh hundreds of pounds and can cost on the range from thousands to millions of dollars. One purpose of producing MMS is for in situ analysis. This in situ analysis can lead to much simpler mass spectrometer operation such that non-technical personnel like physicians at the bedside, firefighters in a burning factory, food safety inspectors in a warehouse, or airport security at airport checkpoints, etc. can analyze samples themselves saving the time, effort, and cost of having the sample run by a trained MS technician offsite. Although, reducing the size of MS can lead to a poorer performance of the instrument versus current analytical laboratory standards, MMS is designed to maintain sufficient resolutions, detection limits, accuracy, and especially the capability of automatic operation. These features are necessary for the specific in-situ applications of MMS mentioned above.
The oxygen transmission rate of a gas through packaging is defined as the amount of oxygen permeating per unit of permeable area and per unit of time in a packaging system considering standardized test conditions (23 °C and 1 atm. partial pressure difference). It is an effective tool to estimate the barrier properties of a certain material. The determination of the OTR is usually carried out by means of a steady-state and isostatic method, reported by the ASTM D 3985 or ASTM F 1307, containing respectively standardized protocols for the measurements of the OTR of several kinds of packaging. The typical instrumentation consists in a permeation cell composed by two distinct chambers, separated by the tested material; one of the chambers is then filled with a carrier gas (e.g., nitrogen), while the other one with oxygen, hence creating the necessary driving force to let the oxygen permeate across the barrier's material.
Muslims, India's largest religious minority, have contributed significantly to a synthetic Indo-Islamic religious culture. Sufism, the heterodox mystical movement in Islam found receptiveness among adherents of the medieval regional Shaivite and Vaishnavite traditions of Bhakti. Sikh gurdwaras and Sufi dargahs often attract both visitors and worshippers from other religions. India has monastic traditions such as that of Jain ascetics some of whom practice an extreme form of nonviolence (ahimsa) and Buddhist communities that have preserved ancient styles of meditations. This religious diversity coexists with religious endogamy—people rarely marry outside their faith. There is also religious segregation in housing—religious groups cluster by choice or necessity. Thus, India's religious picture has both rich intermixing and clear divisions.
In March 2020, the Roche Diagnostics division reached a significant milestone with the FDA-approval of its high-volume Sars-CoV-2 diagnostic test, capable of analysing 1,400-8,800 samples within 24h on the proprietary Cobas 6800/8800 molecular testing system. In September, the business acquired Ireland-based Inflazome, for €380 million, gaining control of its NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors. In March 2021, Roche announced it would acquire GenMark Diagnostics for $1.8 billion. Under the terms of agreement, Genmark diagnostics will become a subsidiary and the principal operations will continue to remain in Carlsbad, California. In September, the company announced it would acquire German biotech group, TIB Molbiol, enhancing its molecular diagnostics operations. In September 2022, Roche acquired Good Therapeutics at a cost of $250M for its PD1-regulated IL-2 receptor agonist program. In July 2023, Roche partnered with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in a deal worth $2.8 billion for the development of a hypertension drug. In December 2023, Roche acquired Carmot Therapeutics, an anti-obesity drug developer, for $2.7 billion. In October 2023, Monte Rosa Therapeutics and Roche signed a strategic cooperation and licensing agreement for the discovery and development of molecular adhesive degradators (MGD) to combat cancer and neurological diseases. The partnership includes Monte Rosa's QuEENT discovery engine and Roche Holding expertise.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
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.
Its sequence corresponds to the 4-10 region of corticotropin extended by three residues. This fragment lacks the region responsible for adrenal steroid release, so it is explored for neural rather than hormonal effects. The relationship explains the compound's classification among ACTH-derived peptides.
It holds approval in Russia for several neurological indications as a nasal spray or drop formulation. Regulatory agencies in the United States and the European Union have not approved it. Products sold elsewhere are generally labeled for research use only.
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.