The short version of lyophilization fits in a sentence. The long version — which is the one that helps — is below.
Reviewed 2025-09-19. Anything still debated is marked as such rather than presented as settled.
Enzymatic stability motivates the extra three residues at the carboxyl end. Native tuftsin is cleaved quickly by circulating aminopeptidases and carboxypeptidases, which limits its duration of action and its usefulness as a tool compound. Extending the chain with proline-rich segments is a common design tactic because proline constrains the backbone and slows proteolysis. The same Pro-Gly-Pro motif appears in other Russian-developed peptides of the era. Whether the full seven-residue chain is required for activity, or whether it acts mainly as a prodrug releasing tuftsin, remains unresolved.
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro. Its four N-terminal residues reproduce tuftsin, a tetrapeptide fragment of the immunoglobulin heavy chain, while the C-terminal Pro-Gly-Pro extension is a synthetic addition. The peptide has a molecular mass near 752 daltons and carries a net positive charge at physiological pH because of the arginine and lysine side chains. Published indexes list it under the name Selank and the sequence abbreviation TKPRPGP. Solid-phase peptide synthesis is the standard production route for research quantities.
Naming conventions place Selank in the same research family as Semax, another Russian-developed peptide investigated for cognitive effects. The two compounds share a lineage but differ in sequence and in the biological systems proposed as their targets. Semax descends from ACTH fragments, whereas Selank descends from tuftsin. Publications sometimes identify Selank by its full peptide sequence or by laboratory codes rather than one uniform trade name. Because replication outside Russia is limited, reports on its properties are best read alongside the study design and the purity of the material tested.
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide developed in Russia during the 1990s. Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences designed it as a stabilized analog of tuftsin, a naturally occurring immunomodulatory tetrapeptide. The compound has been studied primarily for its reported anxiolytic and nootropic effects. It remains largely unknown in Western pharmacology and is not approved as a medicine by major regulators such as the FDA or the EMA.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical class | Synthetic heptapeptide | Tuftsin analogue with a C-terminal Pro-Gly-Pro tail |
| Amino acid sequence | Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro | Abbreviated TKPRPGP in most catalogues |
| Molecular mass | About 752 Da | Value for the free peptide |
| Solubility | Freely soluble in water | Aqueous solutions are kept cold and used promptly |
| Typical storage | -20 °C, dry, protected from light | Applies to the lyophilised powder before reconstitution |
Lyophilized material is generally stable for extended periods when kept dry at or below minus twenty degrees Celsius. Working solutions are less stable, and common practice is to aliquot and freeze them so that repeated freeze-thaw cycles are avoided. Aqueous solutions are sensitive to pH extremes and to microbial growth, so short-term storage at refrigerator temperature is typical. Oxidation and hydrolysis are the principal degradation routes. Reconstitution with sterile water or a mild buffer is standard, and solutions should be protected from light.
Regulatory treatment varies by jurisdiction. In Russia the compound is a registered prescription product, while in the European Union and the United States it is generally handled as a research chemical without a marketing authorization. Suppliers therefore operate outside pharmaceutical oversight, and buyers rely on supplier documentation for purity and identity claims. Chain of custody and third-party testing are the main verification tools. Analysts note that the absence of a pharmacopoeial monograph for research-grade material limits standardization across vendors.
Purity assessment relies mainly on reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. Because the peptide lacks a strong chromophore, detection often uses backbone absorbance near 214 nm. Identity is confirmed by mass spectrometry, typically electrospray ionization or matrix-assisted laser desorption, comparing the measured mass against the expected value. Amino acid analysis can verify composition after acid hydrolysis. Diastereomer content and residual counterions are reported less often, although both can influence biological assays.
Naming for this compound is not fully standardised in English sources. The spelling Selanc appears in some transliterations, and catalogue entries may instead list the peptide sequence itself as the identifier. Reference material sometimes groups it with other short synthetic peptides studied for behavioural effects, which can create confusion when citations are compared. Distinguishing the exact sequence from related tuftsin analogues is therefore a practical first step when reviewing any dataset or specification sheet.
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, frequently abbreviated as TKPRPGP. It was designed as a structural analogue of tuftsin, a naturally occurring tetrapeptide released by enzymatic cleavage of the immunoglobulin heavy chain. The two additional proline residues at the C-terminal end extend the parent chain and change how the molecule behaves in solution. The free peptide has a calculated molecular mass of approximately 751.9 g/mol and is generally supplied as a lyophilised white to off-white powder.
Quantification in biological matrices relies on liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry with stable-isotope internal standards. Low plasma concentrations and adsorption to container surfaces both complicate measurement. Solid-phase extraction is often needed to reduce matrix interference before injection. Reported limits of quantification differ widely between laboratories, which makes direct comparison of pharmacokinetic results difficult and limits meta-analysis.
Peptide bonds are vulnerable to protease attack, and Selank is no exception. Measured half-life in serum is short, on the order of minutes in several reports, which explains why intranasal administration is the common route described in the literature. Absorption across the nasal mucosa partially bypasses first-pass hepatic metabolism. Quantitative data on human bioavailability remain limited and are difficult to compare across studies.
Proposed mechanisms centre on the GABAergic system. Animal and tissue studies report changes in GABA-A receptor expression and reduced activity of GABA transaminase, the enzyme that degrades GABA. Effects on monoamine turnover, including serotonin and dopamine pathways, are also described, and a separate line of work links the peptide to increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in hippocampal tissue. Most of these findings come from rodent models and cell preparations. How the individual observations combine into a single coherent mode of action is not settled.
Pharmacokinetic data are sparse and largely derived from animal work. After intranasal administration the peptide appears in plasma within minutes, and reported half-lives are short, on the order of minutes to tens of minutes. Degradation proceeds through ordinary proteolytic cleavage into constituent amino acids and smaller fragments. Direct evidence that intact Selank reaches brain tissue in meaningful amounts is limited, and the extent of blood-brain barrier penetration is debated. Some authors argue that fragments, not the parent peptide, carry much of the observed activity.
The enzyme is an oxidoreductase that uses molecular oxygen in a multi-step oxidation reaction which specifically converts one terminal methyl group of the steroid to its corresponding bile acid. It requires adrenal ferredoxin to transfer electrons from nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate to the cytochrome P450 active site. The systematic name of this enzyme class is 5beta-cholestane-3alpha,7alpha,12alpha-triol,NADPH:oxygen oxidoreductase (26-hydroxylating). Other names in common use include 5beta-cholestane-3alpha,7alpha,12alpha-triol 26-hydroxylase, 5beta-cholestane-3alpha,7alpha,12alpha-triol hydroxylase, cholestanetriol 26-hydroxylase, sterol 27-hydroxylase, sterol 26-hydroxylase, cholesterol 27-hydroxylase, CYP27A, CYP27A1, and cytochrome P450 27A1'.
An interstellar probe proposal from 1999 suggested using three advanced radioisotope power sources (ARPS). The RTG electricity can be used for powering scientific instruments and communication to Earth on the probes. One mission proposed using the electricity to power ion engines, calling this method radioisotope electric propulsion (REP). A power enhancement for radioisotope heat sources based on a self-induced electrostatic field has been proposed. According to the authors, enhancements of 5-10% could be attainable using beta sources.
The epoxy cycle of ethylene oxide is an almost regular triangle with bond angles of about 60° and a significant angular strain corresponding to the energy of 105 kJ/mol. For comparison, in alcohols the C–O–H angle is about 110°; in ethers, the C–O–C angle is 120°. The moment of inertia about each of the principal axes are IA = 32.921×10−40 g·cm2, IB = 37.926×10−40 g·cm2 and IC = 59.510×10−40 g·cm2. The relative instability of the carbon-oxygen bonds in the molecule is revealed by the comparison in the table of the energy required to break two C–O bonds in the ethylene oxide or one C–O bond in ethanol and dimethyl ether:
== Terminology == Although "transition matrix" is often used interchangeably with "substitution matrix" in fields other than bioinformatics, the former term is problematic in bioinformatics. With regards to nucleotide substitutions, "transition" is also used to indicate those substitutions that are between the two-ring purines (A → G and G → A) or are between the one-ring pyrimidines (C → T and T → C). Because these substitutions do not require a change in the number of rings, they occur more frequently than the other substitutions. "Transversion" is the term used to indicate the slower-rate substitutions that change a purine to a pyrimidine or vice versa (A ↔ C, A ↔ T, G ↔ C, and G ↔ T).
=== Cetshwayo's reign === At this time, a battle for the succession broke out between two of Mpande's sons, Cetshwayo and Mbuyazi. This culminated in 1856 with the Battle of Ndondakusuka, which left Mbuyazi dead. Cetshwayo then set about usurping his father's authority. When Mpande died of old age in 1872, Cetshwayo took over as ruler.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Rhodium is one of the rarest elements in the Earth's crust, with less than one part per billion. Its rarity affects its price and its use in commercial applications. The concentration of rhodium in nickel meteorites is typically 1 part per billion. Rhodium has been measured in some potatoes with concentrations between 0.8 and 30 ppt.
=== Elimination === Small amounts of metabolites (alpha-methyldopa and alpha-methyldopamine) were found after the administration of both single-doses and maintenance-doses of AMPT. Small amounts of methyltyramine and alpha-methylnoradrenaline were found in patients undergoing AMPT therapy. Urine analysis also recovered 45 to 88 percent of unchanged AMPT after drug ingestion. Of the total AMPT excreted, 50 to 60 percent appeared in urine within the first 8 hours and 80 to 90 percent appeared within 24 hours of oral administration.
MR-2096 is an opioid analgesic drug related to oxymorphone. It has an unusual chiral tetrahydrofuran-2-ylmethyl substitution on the nitrogen which determines the character of effects, with the (R) enantiomer MR-2096 being an opioid agonist, while the (S) enantiomer MR-2097 has similarly potent opioid antagonist effects. This mix of activities has made these two enantiomers useful for characterising the binding site of the mu opioid receptor.
== Overview == Radionuclides occur naturally and are artificially produced in nuclear reactors, cyclotrons, particle accelerators or radionuclide generators. There are 735 known radionuclides with half-lives longer than an hour (see list of nuclides); 35 of those are primordial radionuclides whose presence on Earth has persisted from its formation, and another 62 are detectable in nature, continuously produced either as daughter products of primordial radionuclides or by cosmic radiation. More than 2400 radionuclides have half-lives less than 60 minutes. Most of those are only produced artificially, and have very short half-lives. For comparison, there are 251 stable nuclides.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Selank is a seven-amino-acid peptide built from the tuftsin sequence plus a Pro-Gly-Pro tail. It is produced by chemical synthesis rather than extracted from a natural source. The free peptide is usually supplied as a lyophilised powder or in an aqueous formulation.
Tuftsin is a natural tetrapeptide derived from the Fc portion of immunoglobulin G. Selank retains that tetrapeptide at its N-terminus and adds three residues to improve resistance to enzymatic breakdown. The relationship is structural, and the two molecules are not interchangeable in experimental work.
It holds a product registration in Russia for intranasal use as an anxiolytic. Registrations of that kind are not automatically accepted by regulators elsewhere. In most other countries it is treated as an unapproved substance or a research material.
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide designed as a stabilized analog of the natural tetrapeptide tuftsin. It has been investigated mainly for anxiolytic and cognitive effects. It is not an approved pharmaceutical in most countries.