Everything below concerns ACTH fragment. We keep the language plain, cite what the science says, and separate well-supported claims from open questions.
Updated 2025-10-23. Numbers and descriptions here follow the published literature rather than marketing material.
The proposed mechanism centres on neurotrophic signalling rather than direct receptor activation. Semax is reported to increase expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor in several brain regions, and to shift the balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter systems. Interaction with melanocortin receptors has been suggested because of the parent ACTH fragment. Many of these findings come from rodent studies, and the extent to which they translate to human physiology remains an open question.
Scientific literature on semax is unevenly distributed. A substantial share of published work originates from a small number of laboratories in Russia, while independent replication elsewhere is limited. Human data consist mostly of small trials with short follow-up, and several reported outcomes rely on subjective rating scales. Questions about how much intact peptide reaches the central nervous system after nasal administration, and how long it persists there, are still unresolved. The compound is best described as an active research subject rather than a settled pharmacological agent.
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.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular formula | C37H51N9O10S | Calculated for the free peptide |
| Molar mass | 813.9 g/mol | Anhydrous free base |
| Peptide class | Synthetic heptapeptide | ACTH(4-10) analogue |
| Parent fragment | ACTH(4-10) | Adrenocorticotropic hormone segment |
| Developmental origin | Institute of Molecular Genetics, Moscow | Work began in the 1980s |
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.
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.
Supporters argue that the clinics aim not just to eliminate narcotic addictions, but also to help people function in their lives. Methadone clinics may decrease the use of emergency rooms by patients addicted to opioids According to a 2009 Cochrane review, methadone maintenance treatments decreased the likelihood that heroin dependent patients would use heroin, but did not change crime or mortality rates. However, the bulk of the current research supports the hypothesis that methadone clinics do in fact reduce overdose and substance-related crime.
Dickeya dadantii is a Gram-negative bacillus that belongs to the family Pectobacteriaceae. It was formerly known as Erwinia chrysanthemi but was reassigned as Dickeya dadantii in 2005. Members of this family are facultative anaerobes, able to ferment sugars to lactic acid, have nitrate reductase, but lack oxidases. Even though many clinical pathogens are part of the order Enterobacterales, most members of this family are plant pathogens. D. dadantii is a motile, non-sporing, straight rod-shaped cell with rounded ends, much like the other members of the genus, Dickeya. Cells range in size from 0.8 to 3.2 μm by 0.5 to 0.8 μm and are surrounded by numerous flagella (peritrichous). In the natural plant environment, D. dadantii causes plant maladies such as necrosis, blight and "soft rot", which is a progressive tissue maceration. D. dadantii contains many pectinases that are able to macerate and break down the plant cell wall material. This exposed part of the plant releases nutrients that can facilitate bacterial growth. Commonly infected plants include potato tubers, bulbs of vegetables, and ornamental crops.
=== Dehydration === Concentrated sulfuric acid has a powerful dehydrating property, removing water (H2O) from other chemical compounds such as table sugar (sucrose) and other carbohydrates, to produce carbon, steam, and heat. Dehydration of sucrose is a common laboratory demonstration. The sugar darkens as carbon is formed, and a rigid column of black, porous carbon called a carbon snake may emerge.
Herbivores eat plants, but plants can defend themselves, and some species are parasitic or even carnivorous. Other organisms form mutually beneficial relationships with plants. For example, mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobia provide plants with nutrients in exchange for food; ants are recruited by ant plants to provide protection; honey bees, bats and other animals pollinate flowers; and humans and other animals act as dispersal vectors to spread spores and seeds.
== Structure == Human chorionic gonadotropin is a glycoprotein composed of 237 amino acids with a molecular mass of 36.7 kDa, approximately 14.5kDa αhCG and 22.2kDa βhCG. It is heterodimeric, with an α (alpha) subunit identical to that of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and a β (beta) subunit that is unique to hCG.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Lymphatic absorption mechanism === Elucidation of intestinal lymphatic absorption mechanism from solid lipid nanoparticles using Caco-2 cell line as in vitro model was developed. Several researchers have shown the enhancement of oral bioavailibility of poorly water-soluble drugs when encapsulated in solid lipid nanoparticle. This enhanced bioavailibility is achieved via lymphatic delivery. To elucidate the absorption mechanism, from solid lipid nanoparticle, human excised Caco-2 cell monolayer could be alternative tissue for development of an in-vitro model to be used as a screening tool before animal studies are undertaken. The results obtained in this model suggested that the main absorption mechanism of carvedilol loaded solid lipid nanoparticle could be endocytosis and, more specifically, clathrin-mediated endocytosis.
== Mass spectrometry == Mass spectrometry is commonly used to identify the sugar moieties attached, but since there are many different glycan structures attached and different locations of glycosylation, this leads to challenges when attempting to sequence glycoproteins. Using mass spectrometry, there are two methods for glycoprotein analysis. The first strategy is called "top-down" which uses intact glycoproteins for the mass spectrometry analysis without digesting and does not require an extensive sample preparation. The second and most common method for studying glycoproteins is the "bottom-up" strategy that initially cleaves the glycans from the glycoproteins using chemicals or enzymes. The glycans, which are carbohydrates, and proteins are purified, and individually analyzed. Based on the type of linkage that these glycans use to attach to proteins, different methods are used to separate the glycan from the protein. Using mass spectrometry, the glycan structures and sequences of the proteins can be determined, but where the glycans bind to on the protein is sometimes undetermined. The last approach involves glycoprotein digestion using the enzyme, endoprotease, so the digested glycoproteins can then be characterized by mass spectrometry techniques. Using this method, the glycosylated sites can be identified, so these approaches are used in conjunction when trying to identify glycoproteins. As technology progresses, glycoprotein analyses have become more accurate using high-resolution mass spectrometry instrumentations.
Microbial growth and proliferation can be inhibited by a technique called biopreservation. Biopreservation is achieved by adding antimicrobials or by increasing the acidity of the fish muscle. Most bacteria stop multiplying when the pH is less than 4.5. Acidity is increased by fermentation, marination or by directly adding acids (acetic, citric, lactic) to fish products. Lactic acid bacteria produce the antimicrobial nisin which further enhances preservation. Other preservatives include nitrites, sulfites, sorbates, benzoates and essential oils.
Programs are required to be accredited by SAMHSA or the Drug Enforcement Administration which is a lengthy, time- and resource-consuming process including intensive training and site visit reviews. To stay in operation, they must submit to re-accreditation every 1–3 years. Accredited programs are also able to administer buprenorphine, provided that those prescribing and administering the drug have completed the 8–24 hours of SAMHSA training. Office-based physicians who wish to prescribe buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder must also complete the required training, as well as apply for and receive a waiver from SAMHSA. Under regulation, physicians may not have more than 30 buprenorphine patients in their first year of prescribing the drug. They may apply to have this limit increased to 100 patients by year two and 275 patients by year three. In December 2015, the US Government Accountability Office began a survey of the laws and regulations around opioid treatment programs and medication-assisted treatment and found that they were barriers to getting people with opioid use disorders the treatment they need. Despite the fact that there is a shortage of opioid treatment programs across the United States, many clinicians do not want to start their own because the time and effort required to comply with the regulations is prohibitive. Individual-level barriers to accessing medication-assisted treatment also exist.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
== Method == Generally, negative ions are created (atoms are ionized) in an ion source. In fortunate cases, this already allows the suppression of an unwanted isobar, which does not form negative ions (as 14N in the case of 14C measurements). The pre-accelerated ions are usually separated by a first mass spectrometer of sector-field type and enter an electrostatic "tandem accelerator". This is a large nuclear particle accelerator based on the principle of a tandem van de Graaff accelerator operating at 0.2 to many million volts with two stages operating in tandem to accelerate the particles. At the connecting point between the two stages, the ions change charge from negative to positive by passing through a thin layer of matter ("stripping", either gas or a thin carbon foil). Molecules will break apart in this stripping stage. The complete suppression of molecular isobars (e.g. 13CH− in the case of 14C measurements) is one reason for the exceptional abundance sensitivity of AMS. Additionally, the impact strips off several of the ion's electrons, converting it into a positively charged ion. In the second half of the accelerator, the now positively charged ion is accelerated away from the highly positive centre of the electrostatic accelerator which previously attracted the negative ion. When the ions leave the accelerator they are positively charged and are moving at several percent of the speed of light. In the second stage of mass spectrometer, the fragments from the molecules are separated from the ions of interest.
The improvement in food preservation due to refrigeration, which significantly reduced food loss and waste due to spoilage, has also led to a new supply chain infrastructure where large quantities of meat, seafood and produce can be supplied from a smaller number of farms and fisheries, both of which now output a much larger food yield per capita in comparison to the late 1800s. This has also resulted in more diversification of food products (such as rare delicacies) available to the consumer market, which has had a large impact on the nutrition, tastes and culinary arts of modern societies.
== Production == Chuño is made at the beginning of winter during June and July, during which time the temperatures reach around −5 °C (23 °F) at elevations of over 3,800 metres (12,500 ft). After fall harvest (April–May), potatoes are selected for the production of chuño, typically small ones for ease of processing. These small potatoes are spread closely on flat ground, and allowed to freeze with the low night temperatures and dehydrate in the daytime, for about three nights. This process results in natural freeze-drying. By the end of this process, the potatoes are taken to chuñochinapampas – flat areas where the potatoes can be laid out. The term is Aymara in origin and translates to “the place where the chuño is made”. Once they make it to the chuñochinapampas, they are trampled by foot, traditionally through the work of extended family groups and their pets. This eliminates what little water is still retained by the potatoes, and removes the skins, enabling subsequent freezing and drying. They remain as they are for over a week, depending on weather conditions. During the process of manually squeezing water out of the potatoes via stepping on them, whole families will participate. The previous freeze-drying breaks down cell walls, making it easier to remove water from the potatoes. They build a small pile of potatoes with their feet and then "dance" on the pile, removing the skins as they do so. This will not entirely remove the skins, so the remaining skin is removed by hand afterwards. Starting from this basic freeze-dry process, two varieties are obtained:
Internal waters: Waters landward of the baseline, over which the state has complete sovereignty: not even innocent passage is allowed without explicit permission from said state. Lakes and rivers are considered internal waters. Territorial sea: A state's territorial sea is a belt of coastal waters extending at most 22 kilometres from the baseline of a coastal state. If this overlaps with another state's territorial sea, the border is taken as the median line between the states' baselines, unless the states in question agree otherwise. A state can also choose to claim a smaller territorial sea. The territorial sea is regarded as the sovereign territory of the state. However, foreign ships (military and civilian) are allowed innocent passage through it, or transit passage for straits; this sovereignty also extends to the airspace over and seabed below. As a result of UNCLOS, states exercise a similar degree of control over their territorial sea as over land territory. They may thus utilise coast guard and naval patrols to enforce border control measures, provided they do not prevent innocent or transit passage. Contiguous zone: A state's contiguous zone is a band of water extending farther from the outer edge of the territorial sea to up to 44 kilometres (27 miles) from the baseline, within which a state can implement limited border control measures for the purpose of preventing or punishing "infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws and regulations within its territory or territorial sea".
==== Particulates ==== Atmospheric particulate matter, also known as particulates, can be found indoors and can affect the health of occupants. Indoor particulate matter can come from different indoor sources or be created as secondary aerosols through indoor gas-to-particle reactions. They can also be outdoor particles that enter indoors. These indoor particles vary widely in size, ranging from nanomet (nanoparticles/ultrafine particles emitted from combustion sources) to micromet (resuspensed dust). Particulate matter can also be produced through cooking activities. Frying produces higher concentrations than boiling or grilling and cooking meat produces higher concentrations than cooking vegetables. Preparing a Thanksgiving dinner can produce high concentrations of particulate matter, exceeding 300 μg/m3. Particulates can penetrate deep into the lungs and brain from blood streams, causing health problems such as heart disease, lung disease, cancer and preterm birth.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Semax is based on the ACTH(4-10) fragment, a seven-amino-acid segment of adrenocorticotropic hormone. The synthetic peptide retains the core sequence while removing regions associated with endocrine activity. This modification is intended to isolate effects on the nervous system.
It is registered for clinical use in Russia and a few other countries, typically as a nasal drop formulation. It does not hold approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or the European Medicines Agency. Outside those markets it is generally handled as a research chemical.
The compound was developed in Moscow and the earliest studies were conducted there, so the primary literature is largely in Russian-language journals. Translation and indexing have been incomplete, which limits access for outside researchers. Independent groups have since published some work, but the total volume remains modest.
It is described as a synthetic analogue of the ACTH(4–10) fragment, a short segment of adrenocorticotropic hormone. Its sequence differs from that fragment and includes two proline residues, which influence stability and behaviour in solution.