This is a working overview of semax, written for readers who want more than a one-paragraph summary but less than a textbook.
Reviewed 2025-09-01. Anything still debated is marked as such rather than presented as settled.
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.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide whose sequence is Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. It was developed as a fragment analog of adrenocorticotropic hormone, modeled specifically on the ACTH(4-10) region. The first four residues reproduce that fragment, while a Pro-Gly-Pro tripeptide is appended at the C-terminus. Work on the compound originated in Russia, where it entered clinical use as an intranasal preparation. Its sequence places it among short regulatory peptides studied for effects on the central nervous system rather than on the adrenal axis.
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.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Lyophilised solid |
| Solubility class | Freely soluble in water | Also dissolves in aqueous buffers |
| Typical storage temperature | -20 °C | Dry, desiccated, protected from light |
| Typical analytical method | RP-HPLC with UV detection | Often paired with LC-MS |
| Water content | Reported as Karl Fischer value | Freeze-dried material is hygroscopic |
溶液状态的稳定性明显低于冻干粉。肽类在水溶液中可能经历水解、氧化与聚集，其中甲硫氨酸和天冬酰胺等残基常是敏感位点。Semax 含有甲硫氨酸，因此氧化风险相对突出。工作液一般主张现配现用，或冷藏并在数日内用尽。缓冲液种类、pH 和离子强度都会影响降解速率，而关于最佳条件的公开数据并不统一。
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。
Later generations of the molecule include an N-acetylated form and an amidated form, both marketed online alongside the parent peptide. These variants differ in terminal chemistry and stability, and they are frequently discussed in the same breath even though they have not been compared in controlled trials. Supply outside formal healthcare systems comes largely from laboratories that synthesize peptides to order. Purity and identity of these materials vary widely, and no single body oversees the international trade.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide developed in the Soviet Union during the 1980s by researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow. It was designed as a truncated analog of adrenocorticotropic hormone, retaining only the fragment spanning residues four through ten. Investigators sought a peptide that would preserve the cognitive effects associated with ACTH while eliminating the hormonal stimulation of the adrenal cortex. The compound entered clinical use in Russia during the following decade.
Russian regulatory authorities approved the peptide for nasal administration, and it remains listed in the national pharmacopoeia under several trade names. Documented indications include acute ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attacks, traumatic brain injury, and certain ophthalmological and neurological conditions. Physicians also prescribe it for cognitive complaints in older patients, although the evidence base for that use is thinner. Outside Russia and a few neighboring states, the substance is not an approved medicine and is sold instead as a research chemical.
Cervarix, GARDASIL and GARDASIL9 are three recombinant subunit vaccines licensed for the protection against HPV infection. They differ in the strains which they protect the patients from as Cervarix confers protection against type 16 and 18, Gardasil confers protection against type 6, 11, 16 and 18, and Gardasil 9 confers protection against type 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, 58 respectively. The vaccines contain purified VLP of the major capsid L1 protein produced by recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It has been shown in a 2014 systematic quantitative review that the bivalent HPV vaccine (Cervarix) is associated with pain (OR 3.29; 95% CI: 3.00–3.60), swelling (OR 3.14; 95% CI: 2.79–3.53) and redness (OR 2.41; 95% CI: 2.17–2.68) being the most frequently reported adverse effects. For Gardasil, the most frequently reported events were pain (OR 2.88; 95% CI: 2.42–3.43) and swelling (OR 2.65; 95% CI: 2.0–3.44). Gardasil was discontinued in the U.S. on May 8, 2017, after the introduction of Gardasil 9 and Cervarix was also voluntarily withdrawn in the U.S. on August 8, 2016.
=== Religious beliefs === De Duve was brought up as a Roman Catholic. In his later years he tended towards agnosticism, if not strict atheism. However, de Duve believed that "Most biologists, today, tend to see life and mind as cosmic imperatives, written into the very fabric of the universe, rather than as extraordinarily improbable products of chance." "It would be an exaggeration to say I'm not afraid of death", he explicitly said to a Belgian newspaper Le Soir just a month before his death, "but I'm not afraid of what comes after, because I'm not a believer." He strongly supported biological evolution as a fact, and dismissive of creation science and intelligent design, as explicitly stated in one of his last books, Genetics of Original Sin: The Impact of Natural Selection on the Future of Humanity (French original 2009). He was among the seventy-eight Nobel laureates in science to endorse the effort to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act of 2008.
The PLA is the guarantor of the party's survival and rule, and the party prioritizes maintaining control and the loyalty of the PLA. According to Chinese law, the party has absolute control over the armed forces and the CMC exercises supreme military command; the party and state CMCs are practically a single body by membership. Since 1989, the CCP general secretary has also been the CMC Chairman; this grants significant political power as the only member of the Politburo Standing Committee with direct responsibilities for the armed forces. The Ministry of National Defense has no command authority; it is the PLA's interface with state and foreign entities and insulates the PLA from external influence. Today, the majority of military units around the country are assigned to one of five theatre commands by geographical location. In addition to wartime arrangements, the PLA is also involved in the peacetime operations of other components of the armed forces. This is particularly visible in maritime territorial disputes where the navy is heavily involved in the planning, coordination and execution of operations by the PAP's China Coast Guard. The PLA is the world's largest military force (not including paramilitary or reserve forces) and has the second largest defence budget in the world. China's military expenditure was US$336 billion in 2024, accounting for 12 percent of the world's defence expenditures.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Second Cup agreed to transform some of its western Canada locations into recreational cannabis dispensaries, with no cannabis-related products to be sold at its cafés. The company stated that this alliance would allow it to leverage its real estate assets to drive value for the franchisees without affecting plans for new product innovation and opening new cafés across Canada. In August 2018, the company was already considering which of its locations in Ontario might be suitable as cannabis retail stores as an alternative to their current use, in conjunction with National Access Cannabis. On November 8, 2019, Second Cup announced plans to change its name to Aegis Brands Inc. (TSX: AEG), pending stockholder approval the following year. The company was scheduled to open two cannabis stores in Calgary in early 2020 and planned expansion into Ontario. On December 5, 2019, Aegis Brands announced its acquisition of Ottawa-based coffeehouse chain Bridgehead Coffee for $11 million. In February 2021, Aegis Brands agreed to sell Second Cup to Quebec-based Foodtastic Inc. for an undisclosed sale price that included $14 million in cash. Foodtastic chief executive Peter Mammas said that the company intended to expand the brand to 300 locations by 2025, from the existing store count of 190. In May 2025, Second Cup's international division filed for creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act in Canada. This comes after the company was unable to pay nearly $10 million to its creditors.
Several claims made by Hoyle and Wickramasinghe between 1977 and 1981, such as a report of having detected interstellar cellulose, were criticised by one author as pseudoscience. Phil Plait has described Wickramasinghe as a "fringe scientist" who "jumps on everything, with little or no evidence, and says it's from outer space".
== 2023 trial == Police arrested Letby on 3 July 2018 on suspicion of eight counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder, and searched her home. Officers were also seen at her parents' property the same day. Following her arrest, detectives began reviewing her entire nursing career, including her time at Liverpool Women's Hospital. She was bailed on 6 July, rearrested in June 2019, and bailed again shortly afterwards. Letby was arrested for a third time in November 2020 and was remanded in custody. She denied all allegations, attributing the collapses to issues such as staffing levels and hygiene. Letby's trial opened at Manchester Crown Court on 4 October 2022 before Mr Justice Goss. She pleaded not guilty to seven counts of murder and 15 counts of attempted murder. The infants were anonymised as Baby A to Baby Q. Reporting restrictions also protected the identities of nine colleagues who gave evidence. Two years before the trial, Mrs Justice Steyn had ordered that the surviving infants could not be identified until adulthood. Several adult witnesses were also granted anonymity, which the court considered necessary to secure their testimony.
The absence of the enzyme has no negative effect on growth and the bacteria show no phenotypeic differences, with the exception that lactobacillic acid or other cyclopropanoic acids do not occur among the fatty acids present. A similar experiment was carried out with artificially produced mutants of Brucella abortus. The bacteria are still able to multiply in macrophages, so lactobacillic acid has no effect on the intracellular life cycle. However, if the bacteria are cultivated in a culture medium with a low pH value and high osmolarity, less growth can be observed compared to the unmodified cells. These conditions can be transferred to the survival of B. abortus in the environment, where an acidic environment with high osmolarity can also occur. The mutants that do not produce lactobacillic acid have poorer chances of survival there and consequently cannot be transferred to a host as easily as is the case with a smear infection, for example. The study of the promoter of the cfa gene also shows that expression is promoted by low pH and high osmolarity, i.e. the enzyme CFA synthase is formed under these conditions. From the point of view of energy metabolism, the formation of the cyclopropane ring in lactobacillic acid means a relatively high energy expenditure for the cell. The S adenosylmethionine, which acts as a carrier of the methylene group, must then be regenerated from S adenosylhomocysteine. This is associated with the hydrolytic cleavage of three ATP molecules per molecule.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Clinical outcomes include depressed growth, diarrhea, impotence and delayed sexual maturation, alopecia, eye and skin lesions, impaired appetite, altered cognition, impaired immune functions, defects in carbohydrate use, and reproductive teratogenesis. Zinc deficiency depresses immunity, but excessive zinc does also. Despite some concerns, western vegetarians and vegans do not suffer any more from overt zinc deficiency than meat-eaters. Major plant sources of zinc include cooked dried beans, sea vegetables, fortified cereals, soy foods, nuts, peas, and seeds. However, phytates in many whole-grains and fibers may interfere with zinc absorption and marginal zinc intake has poorly understood effects. The zinc chelator phytate, found in seeds and cereal bran, can contribute to zinc malabsorption. Some evidence suggests that more than the US RDA (8 mg/day for adult women; 11 mg/day for adult men) may be needed in those whose diet is high in phytates, such as some vegetarians. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) guidelines attempt to compensate for this by recommending higher zinc intake when dietary phytate intake is greater. These considerations must be balanced against the paucity of adequate zinc biomarkers, and the most widely used indicator, plasma zinc, has poor sensitivity and specificity.
=== Anti-DFS70 antibodies === Anti-DFS70 antibodies generate a dense fine speckled pattern in indirect immunofluorescence and are found in normals and in various conditions, but are not associated with a systemic autoimmune pathology. Therefore, they can be used to help to rule out such conditions in ANA positive individuals. A significant number of patients are diagnosed as systemic lupus erythematosus or undifferentiated connective tissue disease largely based on a positive ANA. In case no defined autoantibody can be detected (e.g. anti-ENA antibodies), the testing of anti-DFS70 antibodies is recommended to verify the diagnosis. Anti-DFS70 antibody tests are available as CE-marked tests. Until now, no FDA cleared assay is available.
The country is a founding member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the East Asia Summit (EAS), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as a member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
== Signs and symptoms == The characteristic features of achondrogenesis type 2 are short arms and legs, a tiny chest with short ribs, lung hypoplasia, a small chin, a prominent forehead, and an enlarged abdomen that may also include hydrops, and polyhydramnios.
Endocrine: Impotence, increased or decreased libido: gynecomastia in the male; breast enlargement and galactorrhea in the female; testicular swelling; elevation or depression of blood sugar levels. Other: Jaundice (simulating obstructive); altered liver function; parotid swelling; alopecia; flushing; weight gain or loss; urinary frequency, nocturia; perspiration.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
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.
Dry lyophilised powder is generally kept at minus twenty degrees Celsius, protected from light and moisture. Repeated freeze-thaw cycles are avoided because they encourage aggregation and moisture uptake. Solutions are less stable than the solid form and degrade faster at room temperature.
A certificate documents what the supplier measured, not what an independent party confirmed. Methods, instruments and acceptance criteria can differ between suppliers. Third-party testing is the usual way to resolve discrepancies.
The sequence is Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro, a seven-residue peptide. The first four residues correspond to the ACTH(4-10) fragment, and Pro-Gly-Pro is added at the C-terminus. N-acetylated versions also appear in the literature and differ in mass.