This is a working overview of nootropic, written for readers who want more than a one-paragraph summary but less than a textbook.
This page was last updated on 2026-03-18 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.
Semax 是人工设计的七肽,序列为 Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro,骨架取自促肾上腺皮质激素片段 ACTH(4-10)。它于二十世纪八十年代在苏联的分子遗传学研究机构内合成。设计目标是保留该片段与注意力和记忆相关的活性,同时剔除促皮质激素释放等内分泌作用。此后俄罗斯将其登记为药品并进入临床使用。
当时的短肽研究普遍关注能否穿越血脑屏障、在低剂量下产生中枢效应,Semax 属于这一路线。鼻内给药是其主要使用方式,俄语文献报道的适应症涵盖缺血性卒中、短暂性脑缺血发作、认知功能减退以及视神经病变。这些研究大多发表在当地期刊上,样本规模与终点设置同西方试验惯例存在差异,国际同行对其临床证据的强度看法不一。
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.
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.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 结构类别 | 线性合成七肽 | 无环化结构,不含二硫键 |
| 氨基酸序列 | Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro | N 端为甲硫氨酸 |
| 分子量 | 约 814 Da | 游离碱形式的计算值 |
| 外观 | 白色至类白色粉末 | 具吸湿性 |
| 溶解性 | 易溶于水 | 亦可溶于甲醇等极性溶剂 |
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.
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.
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. 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.
Development of the compound took place in the Soviet Union during the 1980s, largely through peptide research groups affiliated with the Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute and Moscow State University. Investigators screened fragments of adrenocorticotropic hormone for activity on the central nervous system while attempting to separate cognitive effects from hormonal ones. The shortened sequence was selected because it retained behavioral activity in animal models without stimulating corticosteroid release. Early publications described the molecule as an ACTH(4-10) analog.
Lyophilised powder is normally kept at -20 °C in a desiccated container, with some suppliers recommending -80 °C for long-term archival storage. Repeated freeze-thaw cycles are the most common cause of avoidable loss, so aliquoting before freezing reduces variability between working sessions. Dissolved peptide is far less stable than the dry solid and is usually prepared fresh or held briefly at 4 °C. Aqueous solutions support both hydrolysis of the backbone and oxidation of the N-terminal methionine, and these two routes dominate degradation under ordinary laboratory conditions.
Identity and purity are confirmed with reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, typically monitored at 214 nanometres where the peptide bond absorbs. Mass spectrometry, either electrospray or MALDI-TOF, verifies molecular mass against the theoretical value and detects truncation or adduct formation. Amino acid analysis and peptide mapping provide additional confirmation when required. The most frequently reported impurities are deletion sequences from incomplete coupling, methionine sulfoxide from oxidation, and dimeric species formed through non-covalent aggregation. Impurity profiles depend strongly on the synthesis and purification route chosen by the producer.
=== Spectrometer === Americium-241 has been used as a portable source of both gamma rays and alpha particles for a number of medical and industrial uses. The 59.5409 keV (9.53950 fJ) gamma ray emissions from 241Am in such sources can be used for indirect analysis of materials in radiography and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, as well as for quality control in fixed nuclear density gauges and nuclear densometers. For example, this isotope has been employed to gauge glass thickness to help create flat glass. Americium-241 is also suitable for calibration of gamma-ray spectrometers in the low-energy range, since its spectrum consists of nearly a single peak and negligible Compton continuum (at least three orders of magnitude lower intensity).
(See Endogenous opiate precursor theory) After a preliminary 1998 study of three children with autism treated with secretin infusion reported improved GI function and dramatic improvement in behavior, many parents sought secretin treatment and a black market for the hormone developed quickly. Later studies found secretin clearly ineffective in treating autism.
== Southern Rhodesians in other theatres == In addition to the main deployments, Southern Rhodesian servicemen served in other theatres of the war. Rhodesian sailors in the Royal, South African and Merchant Navies crewed ships in many parts of the world, including the Indian Ocean, the Arctic and the Pacific. No. 237 (Rhodesia) Squadron operated in Iran and Iraq in 1942–43, guarding oil wells and pipelines and supporting the British Tenth Army. Closer to home, Southern Rhodesian military surveyors contributed to the preliminary planning work for the Allied invasion of Madagascar in May 1942, and landed at Diego Suarez with the invading forces. They remained there long after the Vichy French garrison agreed to an armistice at Ambalavao on 6 November 1942—the last Rhodesian left the island in October 1943.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Boyle, Peter; Nigel Gray, Jack Henningfield, John Seffrin and Witold Zatonski, Tobacco: Science, Policy and Public Health, Oxford University Press, second edition, 2010, 776 pages (ISBN 9780199566655). Brandt, Allan. The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product That Defined America (2007). online Brooks, Jerome E. The Mighty Leaf: The Story of Tobacco (Little, Brown, 1952) Burns, Eric. The Smoke of the Gods: A Social History of Tobacco (Temple University Press, 2007) online Cochran, Sherman. Big Business in China: Sino-Foreign Rivalry in the Cigarette Industry, 1890-1930 (Harvard UP, 1980). Corti, Count. (1931) A history of smoking (Bracken 1996 reprint; 1931) online Durden, Robert F. The Dukes of Durham, 1865-1929 (1975) online Enstad, Nan. Cigarettes, Inc.: An Intimate History of Corporate Imperialism (U of Chicago, 2018) excerpt Gately, Iain. Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization (2003) Goodman, Jordan, ed. Tobacco in History and Culture. An Encyclopedia (2 vol, Gage Cengage, 2005)online Hahn, Barbara. Making Tobacco Bright: Creating an American Commodity, 1617–1937 (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011). examines how marketing, technology, and demand caused the dominance of Bright Flue-Cured Tobacco. Hannah, Leslie. "The Whig Fable of American Tobacco, 1895-1913," Journal of Economic History 66#1 (2006), pp. 42–73 online, argues most historians misinterpret the company. Harrald, Chris. The cigarette book: the history and culture of smoking (2010) online Heimann, Robert K.
== Use in medicine and technology == In medicine several nucleoside analogues are used as antiviral or anticancer agents. The viral polymerase incorporates these compounds with non-canonical bases. These compounds are activated in the cells by being converted into nucleotides. They are administered as nucleosides since charged nucleotides cannot easily cross cell membranes. In molecular biology, several analogues of the sugar backbone exist. Due to the low stability of RNA, which is prone to hydrolysis, several more stable alternative nucleoside/nucleotide analogues that correctly bind to RNA are used. This is achieved by using a different backbone sugar. These analogues include locked nucleic acids (LNA), morpholinos and peptide nucleic acids (PNA). In sequencing, dideoxynucleotides are used. These nucleotides possess the non-canonical sugar dideoxyribose, which lacks 3' hydroxyl group (which accepts the phosphate). DNA polymerases cannot distinguish between these and regular deoxyribonucleotides, but when incorporated a dideoxynucleotide cannot bond with the next base and the chain is terminated.
==== African education system ==== For African students primary school also lasted for 7 years. Around half of early primary students progressed to higher primary levels. and after finishing primary school if they chose to progress to secondary school had to take a test unlike their white counterparts. Secondary school lasted for 4 years but could be extended to 6. Most students did not make it to higher secondary levels.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Supraventricular tachycardia === In individuals with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), adenosine is a first line treatment used to help identify and convert the rhythm. Certain SVTs can be successfully terminated with adenosine. This includes any re-entrant arrhythmias that require the AV node for the re-entry, e.g., AV reentrant tachycardia (AVRT) and AV nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT). In addition, atrial tachycardia can sometimes be terminated with adenosine. Fast rhythms of the heart that are confined to the atria (e.g., atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter) or ventricles (e.g., monomorphic ventricular tachycardia), and do not involve the AV node as part of the re-entrant circuit, are not typically converted by adenosine. However, the ventricular response rate is temporarily slowed with adenosine in such cases. Because of the effects of adenosine on AV node-dependent SVTs, adenosine is considered a class V antiarrhythmic agent. When adenosine is used to cardiovert an abnormal rhythm, it is normal for the heart to enter ventricular asystole for a few seconds. This can be disconcerting to a normally conscious patient, and is associated with angina-like sensations in the chest.
=== Films === In the 1999 film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, it is stated by Number 2 (Robert Wagner) to Dr. Evil (Mike Myers), that while he was frozen, Virtucon invested in the company years prior which has become a major conglomerate. In the 2021 film Ghostbusters: Afterlife, it is stated by Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) that Starbucks had taken over the Ghostbusters' firehouse headquarters at North Moore Street after they went out of business and had turned it into a coffeehouse before Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) bought it back from them.
The converse happens when the plasma pH rises above normal: bicarbonate ions are excreted into the urine, and hydrogen ions released into the plasma. When hydrogen ions are excreted into the urine, and bicarbonate into the blood, the latter combines with the excess hydrogen ions in the plasma that stimulated the kidneys to perform this operation. The resulting reaction in the plasma is the formation of carbonic acid which is in equilibrium with the plasma partial pressure of carbon dioxide. This is tightly regulated to ensure that there is no excessive build-up of carbonic acid or bicarbonate. The overall effect is therefore that hydrogen ions are lost in the urine when the pH of the plasma falls. The concomitant rise in the plasma bicarbonate mops up the increased hydrogen ions (caused by the fall in plasma pH) and the resulting excess carbonic acid is disposed of in the lungs as carbon dioxide. This restores the normal ratio between bicarbonate and the partial pressure of carbon dioxide and therefore the plasma pH. The converse happens when a high plasma pH stimulates the kidneys to secrete hydrogen ions into the blood and to excrete bicarbonate into the urine. The hydrogen ions combine with the excess bicarbonate ions in the plasma, once again forming an excess of carbonic acid which can be exhaled, as carbon dioxide, in the lungs, keeping the plasma bicarbonate ion concentration, the partial pressure of carbon dioxide and, therefore, the plasma pH, constant.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
不存在。它是依据 ACTH 的一段序列人工设计的分子,天然蛋白质中找不到与之完全相同的七肽。名称属于研究代号,而非天然物质名。
Semax 对应 ACTH 第 4 至第 10 位的片段,并在两端做了替换与延长,使其不再具备促肾上腺皮质激素的典型内分泌活性。这一改动同时改变了它在体内的稳定性与分布特征。
俄罗斯将其列为处方药物,需要医生开具处方。多数其他国家把它当作研究化合物,不能作为药品销售或宣称疗效。具体合法性取决于当地法规。
It is associated with the melanocortin receptor family, particularly subtypes found in the central nervous system. This interaction is separate from the adrenal pathway activated by full-length ACTH.