Everything below concerns selank. We keep the language plain, cite what the science says, and separate well-supported claims from open questions.
Updated 2025-12-19. Numbers and descriptions here follow the published literature rather than marketing material.
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.
Development took place at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where a series of short peptides were designed in the 1980s and 1990s. Selank was selected from variants of tuftsin that showed resistance to plasma peptidases. Russian regulatory approval covers it as an anxiolytic agent given intranasally. Outside that market the compound is normally handled as a research chemical rather than a medicine, and no widely recognised international pharmacopoeial monograph exists. The name Selank is a coined trade designation rather than a systematic chemical name.
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.
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.
| 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 |
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.
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.
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.
=== Tropical dairy farm === In 1937, Cold Storage founded the world's first tropical dairy farm at the Bukit Timah district of Singapore, which aimed to produce fresh pasteurised milk. This farm, then known as the Singapore Dairy Farm, was situated inside what is now the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. It kept as many as 800 cows. Pasteurised milk produced at the farm was packaged in pyramid-shaped cartons and sold under the brand Magnolia. By 1974, the farm was planned to be redeveloped into a residential area. Cold Storage is the Singapore's oldest established supermarket operator. It was the first supermarket in Singapore to receive the CaseTrust Mark introduced by the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) in 1998 which identifies companies that receive a high degree of consumer confidence. It was also the first supermarket in Singapore to receive MUIS certification for its supermarket operations at Causeway Point in Woodlands, thus providing Muslims with the assurance of Halal purchases.
== Protein structure == Galactose oxidase contains 639 amino acids. It is a single peptide monomer that has three β-structural domains. Domain 1 (residues 1-155) is a β-sandwich consisting of eight antiparallel β-strands. It contains a possible binding site for Na+ or Ca2+, which may serve structural roles in the protein. Another feature of Domain 1 is the presence of a carbohydrate binding site that direct the enzyme to bind to extracellular carbohydrates. Domain 2 (residues 156-552) contains the copper binding site. The β-strands in Domain 2 are organized as a seven-fold propeller, and each of the seven structural units is a subdomain consisting of four antiparallel β-strands. Domain 3 (residues 553-639) consists of seven anti-parallel β-strands and forms a “cap” over Domain 2. One histidine (His581) of Domain 3 serves as the ligand for copper, contributing to the metal-containing active site of the enzyme.
=== Ion implantation === Ion implantation may be used to treat the surfaces of dielectric materials such as sapphire and silica to make composites with near-surface dispersions of metal or oxide nanoparticles.
== Pokeweed antiviral protein == Pokeweed antiviral protein is a ribosome inactivating protein that provides pokeweed plants protection against both viral and fungal infections. It also protects other types of plants that have genetically engineered to express RAP that do not normally do so. Recombinant pokeweed antiviral protein has also been proposed as a treatment of human diseases such as AIDS and cancer.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
== Spectroscopy == Both the fluorescence excitation and emission spectrums of wild-type EosFP are shifted ~65 nm to the right upon excitation toward the red end of the spectrum. This spectral change is caused by an extension of the chromophore accompanied by a break in the peptide backbone between Phe-61 and His-62 in an irreversible mechanism. The presence of a crisp isosbestic point at 432 nm also suggests an interconversion between two species. An absorption peak at 280 nm is visible due to aromatic amino acids which transfer their excitation energy to the green chromophore. The quantum yield of the green-emitting form of Eos is 0.7. In the red shifted species, there are pronounced vibronic sidebands separate from the main peak at 533 nm and 629 nm in the excitation spectrum and emission spectrum respectively. There is another peak in the red excitation spectrum at 502 nm likely due to FRET excitation of the red fluorophore. The quantum yield of the red-emitting form is 0.55. EosFPs variants show almost no difference in spectroscopic properties, therefore, it is likely that the structural modifications which arise from separation of interfaces have little to no effect on the structure of the fluorophore-binding site.
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Measuring gene expression is an important part of many life sciences, as the ability to quantify the level at which a particular gene is expressed within a cell, tissue or organism can provide a lot of valuable information. For example, measuring gene expression can:
=== As biochemical reactors === Synthetic condensates offer a way to probe cellular function and organization with high spatial and temporal control, but can also be used to modify or add functionality to the cell. One way this is accomplished is by modifying the condensate networks to include binding sites for other proteins of interest, thus allowing the condensate to serve as a scaffold for protein release or recruitment. These binding sites can be modified to be sensitive to light activation or small molecule addition, thus giving temporal control over the recruitment of a specific protein of interest. By recruiting specific proteins to condensates, reactants can be concentrated to increase reaction rates or sequestered to inhibit reactivity. More importantly, by spatially organizing the proximity of enzymes in a complex pathway, synthetic condensates can be used to direct the metabolic flux of branched reactions. In an extreme example of using RNA-based synthetic organelle TEARS to organize violacine biosynthesis pathway in E. coli, the side reaction that produces deoxychromoviridans over the desired product deoxyviolacine can be abolished completely by TEARs. In addition to protein recruitment, condensates can also be designed which release proteins in response to certain stimuli. In this case, a protein of interest can be fused to a scaffold protein via a photocleavable linker. Upon irradiation, the linker is broken, and the protein is released from the condensate.
=== Peptide modifications === Radical SAM enzymes that can catalyze sulfur-to-alpha carbon thioether cross-linked peptides (sactipeptides) generate a class of peptide with antibacterial properties. These peptides belong to the emerging class of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs). Another subset of peptide-modifying radical SAM enzymes is SPASM/Twitch domain-carrying enzymes. SPASM/Twitch enzymes carry a functionalized C-terminal extension for the binding of two [4Fe-4S] clusters, especially in post-translational modifications of peptides. The following examples are representative enzymes that can catalyze peptide modifications to generate specific natural products or cofactors.
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 with the sequence Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, designed as a metabolically stabilized analogue of the endogenous tetrapeptide tuftsin. It has been studied mainly against anxiety-related and cognitive endpoints rather than as an approved medicine in most jurisdictions.