Selank is one of those subjects where the details matter more than the headlines. This page pulls together the background, the mechanisms, and the practical points readers ask about most.
Last reviewed on 2025-12-17. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
Clinical evidence comes mainly from small studies conducted in Russia, several of which were open-label or lacked robust blinding. Reported outcomes include lower anxiety scores, changes in attention measures, and effects on asthenic states following illness. Sample sizes are typically in the tens of participants, and independent replication outside the region is scarce. Reviews published in English generally note the limited methodological quality of the underlying trials. Whether the compound produces clinically meaningful effects under rigorous conditions remains unresolved.
Proposed mechanisms center on modulation of the GABA system, but no single molecular target has been confirmed. Rodent studies report changes in GABA-A receptor expression and in the turnover of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine in several brain regions. Increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its receptor have also been described after repeated administration. These findings come largely from animal models, and the degree to which they describe human neurochemistry remains an open question. The mechanism is best characterized as multi-system and not fully resolved.
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.
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.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Route studied | Intranasal | Predominant route in published reports |
| Circulation stability | Short, minutes scale | Peptidases cleave it; the tail slows the process |
| Analytical method | RP-HPLC with mass spectrometry | Used for identity and purity assessment |
| Reported outcome domains | Anxiety and cognitive measures | Derived from small, mostly regional trials |
| Regulatory status | Marketed in Russia | Availability outside that market is limited |
Regulatory status differs sharply by region. Selank holds a Russian marketing authorization, where it is supplied mainly as nasal drops, while authorities elsewhere have not approved it for medical use. Material sold internationally is therefore usually labeled as a research chemical rather than a medicine. Peer-reviewed publications come predominantly from Russian laboratories, and sample sizes are generally small. Whether the compound produces comparable effects under independent, well-controlled replication remains an open question that the broader literature has not settled.
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide developed in Russia as a structural analogue of tuftsin, a naturally occurring immunomodulatory tetrapeptide. Its sequence, Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, keeps the tuftsin core at the N-terminus and appends a Pro-Gly-Pro tail. Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow synthesized the compound during the 1990s while searching for peptides with combined anxiolytic and immunomodulatory activity. The added tail was intended to resist enzymatic cleavage and prolong the molecule's presence in circulation.
The compound has a calculated molecular weight near 751.9 daltons and carries a net positive charge at physiological pH because of its arginine residue. It dissolves freely in water and in common aqueous buffers, and typically appears as a white or off-white lyophilized powder. The amide backbone makes the molecule susceptible to peptidases, which limits oral use and favors intranasal or parenteral routes. Nomenclature in the literature varies: the substance is also described by the sequence abbreviation TP-7 and by a Russian trade designation.
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.
The primary structure of Selank is Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, corresponding to the molecular formula C33H57N11O9 and a monoisotopic mass of roughly 751.9 daltons. The N-terminal threonine and the arginine residue in the fourth position are shared with tuftsin, which carries the sequence Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg. The three additional residues at the C-terminus, Pro-Gly-Pro, extend the chain and are associated with greater resistance to enzymatic degradation. This extension also separates Selank from the shorter parent peptide.
Reported pharmacological effects center on reduced anxiety-like behavior in animal models and on measures of memory and learning. Proposed contributing mechanisms include modulation of GABAergic signaling, shifts in monoamine turnover, and changes in the activity of enzymes that degrade neuropeptides. Effects on the expression of genes linked to neuroplasticity have also been described. No single molecular target is widely accepted, and whether the behavioral findings arise from one pathway or several remains an open question.
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro. It was designed as a stabilized analogue of tuftsin, a naturally occurring tetrapeptide fragment derived from the immunoglobulin heavy chain. The additional Pro-Gly-Pro segment at the carboxyl terminus is intended to slow enzymatic cleavage. The compound is usually described in the literature as a synthetic peptide with anxiolytic and cognitive-related activity, a label that reflects a research context rather than an approved therapeutic category.
Most published work on selank originates from a small number of research groups in the Russian Federation. A large share of that record appears in Russian-language journals, which limits access for readers who rely on English-indexed databases. Independent replication by laboratories outside the original research network is sparse in publicly available sources. This concentration of origin and language is a frequently noted feature when the compound is summarized in broader reviews of synthetic peptides.
=== COVID-19 pandemic === During the COVID-19 pandemic in Missouri, Schmitt filed lawsuits to prevent St. Louis County from implementing public health restrictions (such as restrictions on indoor dining, mask mandates and limits on gatherings) to reduce COVID-19's spread. He opposed the release from jail of some inmates charged with violent felonies during the pandemic, a measure that had been proposed to reduce COVID-19 spread in detention facilities. Schmitt was involved in efforts to combat scammers and price gougers attempting to profiteer from COVID-19. In March 2020, he sued televangelist Jim Bakker and Morningside Church Productions, Inc. for falsely claiming that "Silver Solution" (colloidal silver) was an effective COVID-19 treatment. In April 2020, on behalf of the State of Missouri, Schmitt sued the Chinese government, Chinese Communist Party, and other Chinese officials and institutions in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleging that their actions to suppress information, arrest whistleblowers, and deny COVID-19's contagious nature led to loss of life and severe economic consequences in Missouri. Missouri is the first state to sue China over the pandemic. Schmitt described the lawsuit as a historic accountability measure, but legal experts called it a public relations stunt. The nine defendants were not served for more than a year after the complaint's filing, and the state spent $12,000 to translate the complaint into Chinese. In July 2022, U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr.
Throughout the many hymns, prayers, and philosophy found in the Vedas (written around 1500 BC), a mysterious plant is mentioned often and with great reverence. This plant alternates from a holy substance to an actual personified god and is considered a teacher, doctor, medicine, a bringer of insight, and a vector of inspiration. The deity version of Soma was associated with medicinal herbs and the moon and was considered a bringer of health and prosperity. The plant was an essential aspect of Vedic religion to alter one’s mind, enabling communion with the divine. The ritual drinking of Soma is also mentioned in the ancient Zoroastrian text, the Avesta, where the rituals and importance of the plant are very similar to those in Vedic culture but are instead called by the name haoma. It is unknown why, but eventually in both the Vedic and Zoroastrian cultures a substitute substance was used in these religious ceremonies and over time the definitive identity of Soma-Haoma has been lost. There is much debate over which species of plant are the sacred plant of the Vedic and Zoroastrian faiths.
cooperativity Also cooperative binding. A phenomenon observed in some enzymes, receptor proteins, and protein complexes which have multiple binding sites, whereby the binding of a ligand to one or more sites apparently increases or decreases the affinity of one or more other binding sites for other ligands. This concept highlights the sensitive nature of the chemistry that governs interactions between biomolecules: the strength and specificity of interactions between protein and ligand are influenced, sometimes substantially, by nearby interactions (often conformational changes) and by the local chemical environment in general. Cooperativity is frequently invoked to account for the non-linearity of data resulting from attempts to measure the association/dissociation constants of particular protein–protein interactions.
=== Depletion of adenine nucleotides === Having eliminated loss of respiration, Albrich et al. proposes that the cause of death may be due to metabolic dysfunction caused by depletion of adenine nucleotides. Barrette et al. studied the loss of adenine nucleotides by studying the energy charge of HClO-exposed cells and found that cells exposed to HClO were unable to step up their energy charge after addition of nutrients. The conclusion was that exposed cells have lost the ability to regulate their adenylate pool, based on the fact that metabolite uptake was only 45% deficient after exposure to HClO and the observation that HClO causes intracellular ATP hydrolysis. It was also confirmed that, at bacteriocidal levels of HClO, cytosolic components are unaffected. So it was proposed that modification of some membrane-bound protein results in extensive ATP hydrolysis, and this, coupled with the cells inability to remove AMP from the cytosol, depresses metabolic function. One protein involved in loss of ability to regenerate ATP has been found to be ATP synthetase. Much of this research on respiration reconfirms the observation that relevant bacteriocidal reactions take place at the cell membrane.
== Derivation == The Hagen–Poiseuille equation can be derived from the Navier–Stokes equations. The laminar flow through a pipe of uniform (circular) cross-section is known as Hagen–Poiseuille flow. The equations governing the Hagen–Poiseuille flow can be derived directly from the Navier–Stokes momentum equations in 3D cylindrical coordinates (r,θ,x) by making the following set of assumptions:
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Geelong: 2005–2008 === At the start of 2006, he moved out of his Werribee home and moved to Geelong to live with teammates Corey Enright and Henry Playfair, with whom he would later go on to start a personal training organisation. He then set his sights on playing a senior game for Geelong and, after playing in the team that had earlier won the pre-season cup, he was selected to play in round 5. Only minutes into his debut, on 29 April against the Sydney Swans, he broke his arm and only played eight games for the year. After a solid pre-season, he played the first five games of 2007 before being omitted and then broke his wrist while playing for the Geelong VFL side on 8 July 2007. As a result, Prismall was unable to play for several weeks but recovered in time to play finals for the VFL side. In 2008, Prismall played in 11 home and away games and was selected to play in the qualifying final against St Kilda on 7 September 2008, which was to be his 25th game and finals debut. However, midway through the first quarter, he was stretchered off and did not return after landing awkwardly and badly injuring his right knee. It was later confirmed that he would have to undergo a full knee reconstruction after scans revealed a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. After the 2008 season, Prismall declined the new two-year contract offered to him by Geelong and asked the club to be traded to get a better chance of playing more regularly in the AFL. On the final day of trade week, he was traded to the Essendon Football Club for national draft pick number 39.
=== Drug manufacturing === Due to the environmental factors present in outer space, alternative manufacturing methods are explored to produce medicines for astronaut use. For example, measuring the weight and volume of medicine ingredients in microgravity conditions is difficult and requires zero-gravity mass measurement devices. Current manufacturing methods also rely heavily on large and heavy machining, which cannot fit on spacecraft due to constrained spaces. New manufacturing methods for medicines have been developed that can adapt to outer space's environmental constraints. Chemputing is a chemical-robot system that uses limited technology to synthesize raw materials for pharmaceuticals. This apparatus includes a reaction flask, a jacketed filtration setup, an automated liquid-liquid separation module, and a solvent evaporation module, allowing astronauts to develop compounds on demand, not requiring a large space and taking into account the constraints of spaceflight. Additive manufacturing has already been used on Earth in the personalized medicine field and there are methods sent to outer space for drug manufacturing and fabrication.
== Reactivity == Ninhydrin exists in equilibrium with the triketone indane-1,2,3-trione, which reacts readily with nucleophiles (including water). Whereas for most carbonyl compounds, a carbonyl form is more stable than a product of water addition (hydrate), ninhydrin forms a stable hydrate of the central carbon because of the destabilizing effect of the adjacent carbonyl groups. To generate the ninhydrin chromophore [2-(1,3-dioxoindan-2-yl)iminoindane-1,3-dione], the amine must condense to give a Schiff base. The reaction of ninhydrin with secondary amines gives an iminium salt, which is also coloured, generally being yellow–orange.
Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a group of rare medical conditions that result in easy blistering of the skin and mucous membranes. Blisters occur with minor trauma or friction and are painful. Its severity can range from mild to fatal. Inherited EB is a rare disease, with a prevalence of 8.2 per million live births in the United States as of November 2004. Those with mild cases may not develop symptoms until they start to crawl or walk during early childhood. Complications may include esophageal narrowing, squamous cell skin cancer, and the need for amputations. EB is due to a mutation in at least one of 16 different genes. Some types are autosomal dominant while others are autosomal recessive. The underlying mechanism is a defect in attachment between or within the layers of the skin. Loss or diminished function of type VII collagen leads to weakness in the structural architecture of the dermoepidermal junction (DEJ) and mucosal membranes. There are four main types: epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS), dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB), junctional epidermolysis bullosa (JEB), and Kindler syndrome. The diagnosis is suspected based on symptoms and confirmed by skin biopsy or genetic testing. There is no cure for the condition. Management involves wound care, pain control, infection control, nutritional support, and the prevention and treatment of complications. About half a million people are affected globally. It occurs equally commonly in males and females.
=== Detection === Quantification of alprazolam in blood and plasma samples may be necessary to confirm a diagnosis of intoxication in hospitalized patients, or to provide evidence in the case of crimes e.g., impaired driving arrest, or to assist in a thorough forensic investigation, e.g., in a medicolegal death investigation. Blood or plasma alprazolam concentrations are usually in a range of 10–100 μg/L in persons receiving the drug therapeutically, 100–300 μg/L in those arrested for impaired driving, and 300–2,000 μg/L in victims of acute overdosage. Most of the commercial immunoassays used for the benzodiazepine class of drugs cross-react with alprazolam, but confirmation and quantitative determination are usually done by chromatographic techniques.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
The US National Academy of Medicine updated the Estimated Average Requirements (EARs) and Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for thiamine in 1998. The EARs for thiamine for women and men aged 14 and over are 0.9 mg/day and 1.1 mg/day, respectively; the RDAs are 1.1 and 1.2 mg/day, respectively. RDAs are higher than EARs to provide adequate intake levels for individuals with higher than average requirements. The RDA during pregnancy and for lactating females is 1.4 mg/day; a typical daily prenatal vitamin product contains around 1.5 mg of thiamine. For infants up to the age of 12 months, the Adequate Intake (AI) is 0.2–0.3 mg/day and for children aged 1–13 years the RDA increases with age from 0.5 to 0.9 mg/day. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) refers to the collective set of information as Dietary Reference Values, with Population Reference Intakes (PRIs) instead of RDAs, and Average Requirements instead of EARs. For women (including those pregnant or lactating), men and children the PRI is 0.1 mg thiamine per megajoule (MJ) of energy in their diet. As the conversion is 1 MJ = 239 kcal, an adult consuming 2390 kilocalories ought to be consuming 1.0 mg thiamine. This is slightly lower than the US RDA. Neither the National Academy of Medicine nor EFSA have set an upper intake level for thiamine, as there is no human data for adverse effects from high doses.
== Regulation == In Arabidopsis, two chains of catalytic ALS (InterPro: IPR012846) is complexed with two regulatory small subunits (InterPro: IPR004789), AHASS2 and AHASS1. Such an arrangement is widespread in both bacterial and eukaryotic ALS. The hetromeric structure was demonstrated in E. coli in 1984 and in eukaryotes (S. cerevisiae and Porphyra purpurea) in 1997. Most of the regulatory proteins have an ACT domain (InterPro: IPR002912) and some of them have a NiKR-like C-terminal (InterPro: IPR027271) In bacteria (E. coli)), Acetolactate synthase consists of three pairs of isoforms. Each pair includes a large subunit, which is thought to be responsible for catalysis, and a small subunit for feedback inhibition. Each subunit pair, or ALS I, II, and III respectively, is located on its own operon, ilvBN, ilvGM, and ilvIH (where ilvN regulated ilvB, and vice versa). Together, these operons code for several enzymes involved in branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis. Regulation is different for each operon.
On an unknown date in 1980, the aircraft registered SSSR-86004 (constructor's number 51483200002 ["002"]) experienced a fire in engine No 4 on departure from Vnukovo on an acceptance testing flight; the crew initially shut down No. 1 in error, then No. 4, but landed safely on the reciprocal runway to the one from which they had departed, after performing a 180° turn. No casualties. The investigation into this fire resulted in a modification to the engine. In 1984, SSSR-86011 (c/n 009) was found to have suffered a tail strike on landing at Simferopol. No casualties. On March 8, 1994, RA-86119 (c/n 087) parked at Delhi airport was struck by debris of crashing Sahara India Boeing 737 (VT-SIA) flown by a trainee; both aircraft were destroyed. All 4 crew on the 737 were killed. Two Aeroflot employees and Russian ground engineer died inside the Il-86 due to a fire and an airport worker was killed on the ground. In 1998, RA-86080 (c/n 051) was found to have been overstressed, most likely by a recent heavy landing, and repairs were considered inexpedient in view of coming retirement. No casualties; aircraft broken up at Sheremetyevo Airport in 2001. On May 1, 2000, RA-86113 (c/n 081) suffered an apparent engine failure and fire on departure from Sochi. The flight crew brought the machine to a safe overweight landing. The failure and fire indications were found to have been spurious. No casualties. On August 26, 2000, RA-86066 (c/n 033) experienced a failure and fire in No 2 engine shortly after take-off from Moscow Sheremetyevo for Barcelona.
Since at least 2013, scientists have been trying to develop synthetic third-generation vaccines by reconstructing the outside structure of a virus; it was hoped that this would help prevent vaccine resistance. Principles that govern the immune response can now be used in tailor-made vaccines against many noninfectious human diseases, such as cancers and autoimmune disorders. For example, the experimental vaccine CYT006-AngQb has been investigated as a possible treatment for high blood pressure. Factors that affect the trends of vaccine development include progress in translatory medicine, demographics, regulatory science, political, cultural, and social responses.
Laser-based ambient ionization is a two-step process in which a pulsed laser is used to desorb or ablate material from a sample and the plume of material interacts with an electrospray or plasma to create ions. Lasers with ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths and nanosecond to femtosecond pulse widths have been used. Although atmospheric pressure MALDI is performed under ambient conditions, it is not generally considered to be an ambient mass spectrometry technique. Laser ablation was first coupled with mass spectrometry in the 1980s for the analysis of metals using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS). The laser ablates the sample material that is introduced into an ICP to create atomic ions.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Reports describe effects on GABA-A receptor expression, monoamine turnover, and neurotrophic factor levels. These are proposed mechanisms drawn mainly from animal models. No single molecular target has been established.
Intranasal delivery is the route described in most published work. It is used because the peptide is degraded quickly once it reaches circulation. Direct evidence of brain penetration in humans is lacking.
Most trials are small, regionally concentrated, and often lack rigorous blinding or placebo control. Independent replication is limited. Reviews in English generally rate the evidence as preliminary.
Purity is usually reported as an HPLC area percentage, most often measured at 214 nm. Identity is confirmed separately by mass spectrometry. A certificate of analysis should state both the method and the observed value.