BDNF comes up often in conversation and rarely with the context attached. Here we lay out the basics in order, then work through the practical considerations.
Updated 2025-12-25. 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. 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.
Solid semax is typically supplied as a lyophilised powder that is hygroscopic and sensitive to moisture, light, and repeated temperature cycling. Long-term storage of the dry peptide is generally recommended at approximately -20 degrees Celsius, while shorter working periods may use refrigeration at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius. Vials should remain tightly closed and desiccated when brought to room temperature, because condensation can damage the material before it is weighed. Dividing a batch into aliquots is preferable to thawing one container repeatedly.
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.
| 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 |
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.
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.
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.
Published research on this peptide originates mainly from Russian laboratories, and the wider international literature is comparatively thin. Studies have used rodent models of stroke, hypoxia, and memory tasks, with a smaller number of human trials reported. Reported outcomes include changes in attention and memory measures, along with effects on neurotrophic factor expression in some experiments. Small sample sizes, inconsistent dosing protocols, and limited independent replication are widely noted limitations, so the strength of the clinical evidence remains an open question.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide whose sequence is Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. The first four residues correspond to the ACTH(4-10) fragment, while the terminal Pro-Gly-Pro extension was added to improve metabolic stability. Its molecular formula is C37H51N9O10S and its monoisotopic mass is approximately 813.9 Da. The compound is classified as a peptide research chemical and as a registered pharmaceutical product in Russia, but it does not hold marketing approval in the European Union or the United States. Naming conventions vary across supplier catalogs.
纯度评估以反相高效液相色谱为主，通过主峰面积百分比给出粗略结果，再配合电喷雾质谱核对分子量。氨基酸分析可验证组成比例，手性色谱或毛细管电泳用于检查残基构型。常见杂质包括缺失序列的短肽、氧化产物与二聚体。由于多数市售品不附带完整检验报告，独立第三方检测常被用来核实标称值。
从分子层面看，Semax 是线性七肽，没有二硫键、糖基或脂链修饰，N 端为游离氨基，C 端为游离羧基。分子含组氨酸与谷氨酸侧链，因此在水和甲醇等极性溶剂中溶解良好，在非极性溶剂中溶解有限。计算分子量约为 814 Da，与其质子化离子的质荷比吻合，可用于质谱确认。
Based on this data, alogliptin was chosen for preclinical evaluation. In January 2007 alogliptin was undergoing the phase III clinical trial and in October 2008 it was being reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
== Consumption == The largest fruit juice consumers are New Zealand (nearly a cup, or 8 ounces, each day) and Colombia (more than three quarters of a cup each day). Fruit juice consumption, on average, increased with country income level. In 2007, a report stated that fruit juice consumption overall in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the US had increased in recent years. In 2015, people in the United States consumed approximately 6.6 US gallons of juice per capita, with more than half of preschool-age children being regular drinkers.
=== Pharmacodynamics === Ritanserin acts as a selective 5-HT2A (Ki = 0.45 nM) and 5-HT2C receptor (Ki = 0.71 nM) antagonist. It has relatively low affinity for the H1, D2, α1-adrenergic, and α2-adrenergic receptors (39-, 77-, 107-, and 166-fold lower relative to 5-HT2A, respectively). The affinity of ritanserin for the 5-HT1A receptor is less than 1 μM. In addition to its affinity for the 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors, ritanserin also binds to and antagonizes the 5-HT1D, 5-HT2B, 5-HT5A, 5-HT6, and 5-HT7 receptors. Ritanserin blocks c-RAF activation and induces apoptotic cell death of non–small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer cells.
The Swiss company GlycArt Biotechnology developed a system using CHO cells, where the cells were engineered to overexpress an enzyme called GnTIII. The effect of this overexpression is to block the formation of fucosylated oligosaccharides on the expressed antibodies. This technology was first reported in 1999 and was the basis of GlycArt Biotechnology. Roche acquired GlycArt in 2005 in order to acquire technology to afucosylate antibodies. GlycArt Biotechnology had been founded in 2000 as a spin-out company of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. The first commercial product from the GlycArt acquisition was obinutuzumab, which as Gazyva gained FDA approval in November 2013 for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Kyowa Hakko Kirin's "Potelligent" platform uses a CHO cell line in which FUT8 has been knocked out, and which produces antibodies with little to no fucose in the Fc region. The company gained marketing approval in Japan in April 2012 for a monoclonal antibody drug called mogamulizumab which was developed using the platform. The Company's technology was first reported in 2004.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Albiglutide (trade names Eperzan in Europe and Tanzeum in the US) is a glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist (GLP-1 agonist) drug marketed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for treatment of type 2 diabetes. In 2017 GSK announced Albiglutide's withdrawal from the worldwide market for economic reasons, and remaining stocks in the supply chain were effectively depleted by 2018.
Putin would have gone in anyway." According to Fried, it was probably the intervention of US president George W. Bush that forced Putin to halt hostilities in Georgia and the reset policy of Obama administration was a mistake.
Prospective validation – the missions conducted before new items are released to make sure the characteristics of the interests which are functioning properly and which meet safety standards. Some examples could be legislative rules, guidelines or proposals, methods, theories/hypothesis/models, products and services. Retrospective validation – a process for items that are already in use and distribution or production. The validation is performed against the written specifications or predetermined expectations, based upon their historical data/evidences that are documented/recorded. If any critical data is missing, then the work can not be processed or can only be completed partially. The tasks are considered necessary if: prospective validation is missing, inadequate or flawed. the change of legislative regulations or standards affects the compliance of the items being released to the public or market. reviving of out-of-use items. Some of the examples could be validation of: ancient scriptures that remain controversial clinical decision rules data systems Full-scale validation Partial validation – often used for research and pilot studies if time is constrained. The most important and significant effects are tested. From an analytical chemistry perspective, those effects are selectivity, accuracy, repeatability, linearity and its range. Cross-validation Re-validation/locational or periodical validation – carried out, for the item of interest that is dismissed, repaired, integrated/coupled, relocated, or after a specified time lapse.
== Dosage and administration == The drug and its generic counterparts are supplied in packages of 12, and available in two strengths: Each B&O Supprettes suppository #15 A contains 16.2 mg (1/4 grain) of belladonna and 30 mg (1/2 grain) of opium. Each B&O Supprettes suppository #16 A contains 16.2 mg of belladonna and 60 mg (1 grain) of opium. The usual dose is one suppository rectally once or twice daily PRN - (as needed), not to exceed four Supprettes in a 24-hour period. In the United States, B&O Supprettes is a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970; a written prescription is mandatory, and no refills are permitted. Refrigerated storage is preferable, but not required. Most pharmacies consider B&O Supprettes to be a "special order" item, and as such are not normally kept in inventory. Compounding pharmacies have the capability of producing a generic form of the medication, and can modify the dosage(s) of the active ingredients (for pediatric or elderly patients, and those with chronic kidney disease) or the carrier (usually substituting cocoa butter) to best meet the needs of the patient at the request of the prescriber.
=== Simple fruits === Simple fruits are the result of the ripening-to-fruit of a simple or compound ovary in a single flower with a single pistil. In contrast, a single flower with numerous pistils typically produces an aggregate fruit; and the merging of several flowers, or a 'multiple' of flowers, results in a 'multiple' fruit. A simple fruit is further classified as either dry or fleshy. To distribute their seeds, dry fruits may split open and discharge their seeds to the winds, which is called dehiscence. Or the distribution process may rely upon the decay and degradation of the fruit to expose the seeds; or it may rely upon the eating of fruit and excreting of seeds by frugivores – both are called indehiscence. Fleshy fruits do not dehisce, and may rely on frugivores for distribution of their seeds. Typically, the entire outer layer of the ovary wall ripens into a potentially edible pericarp. Types of dry simple fruits, (with examples) include:
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
== Hazards == Care should be taken when using a cold trap not to condense oxygen gas into the cold trap, visible as light blue liquid. Liquid oxygen is potentially explosive, and this is especially true if the trap has been used to trap solvent. Oxygen can be condensed into a cold trap if a pump has sucked air through the trap when the trap is very cold, e.g. when cooled with liquid nitrogen. Besides oxygen, many hazardous gases emitted in reactions, e.g. sulfur dioxide, chloromethane, condense into cold traps.
== Overdose == There have been cases of death with dimethyltryptamine (DMT). In terms of extrapolated human lethal dose based on animal studies and human case reports, the lethal dose of ayahuasca relative to a typical recreational or entheogenic dose is estimated to be 50-fold.
Open water fish are usually streamlined like torpedoes to minimize turbulence as they move through the water. Reef fish live in a complex, relatively confined underwater landscape and for them, manoeuvrability is more important than speed, and many of them have developed bodies which optimize their ability to dart and change direction. Many have laterally compressed bodies (flattened from side to side) allowing them to fit into fissures and swim through narrow gaps; some use their pectoral fins for locomotion and others undulate their dorsal and anal fins. Some fish have grown dermal (skin) appendages for camouflage; the prickly leather-jacket is almost invisible among the seaweed it resembles and the tasselled scorpionfish invisibly lurks on the seabed ready to ambush prey. Some like the foureye butterflyfish have eyespots to startle or deceive, while others such as lionfish have aposematic coloration to warn that they are toxic or have venomous spines. Flatfish are demersal fish (bottom-feeding fish) that show a greater degree of asymmetry than any other vertebrates. The larvae are at first bilaterally symmetrical but they undergo metamorphosis during the course of their development, with one eye migrating to the other side of the head, and they simultaneously start swimming on their side. This has the advantage that, when they lie on the seabed, both eyes are on top, giving them a broad field of view. The upper side is usually speckled and mottled for camouflage, while the underside is pale. Some teleosts are parasites.
He explored this topic in his book Panic Nation (2006), which he co-authored with Stanley Feldman. Marks gained prominence in the medico-legal field, providing expert opinions in notable cases. His testimony in Danish-born British socialite Claus von Bülow's 1985 trial challenged accusations of insulin injection and led to an acquittal. The case was made into a book and later into an Oscar winning movie, Reversal of Fortune. In his testimony, Marks said that the insulin-covered needle was most likely planted by someone who did not realize that insulin is cleaned off the needles once it is injected. Marks also testified against Beverley Allitt in 1993, who used insulin to murder four children, and at the trial of Colin Norris in 2008. In 2007, he co-authored Insulin Murders detailing his involvement in high-profile medico-legal cases and reflecting on his career. The book was among the first to talk about insulin as a murder weapon and documented more than 50 years of medical cases in which insulin had been used as a weapon. Marks retired in 1995 but remained active as an emeritus professor, contributing to research, publishing, and medico-legal work. He served as the president at the Association of Clinical Biochemists between 1989 and 1991, and as the vice president at the Royal College of Pathologists. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he authored over 50 papers, contributed to more than 300 research publications, and authored almost 20 textbooks. His last book, The Forensic Aspects of Hypoglycaemia, was published in 2019.
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.
Dry powder is usually kept at about -20 degrees Celsius for long-term storage and at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius for short working periods. Containers should stay sealed and protected from light and moisture to limit degradation.