This is a working overview of Selank, written for readers who want more than a one-paragraph summary but less than a textbook.
Reviewed 2025-11-24. Anything still debated is marked as such rather than presented as settled.
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.
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide developed in Russia. Its sequence is Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, a seven-residue chain built around the natural tetrapeptide tuftsin. Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences first described the compound in the mid-1990s. The design combined the tuftsin core with an added Pro-Gly-Pro tail, a modification intended to extend the molecule's stability in biological fluids. Published work on the peptide has appeared mainly in Russian-language journals.
Reported activity for Selank centers on anxiolytic and nootropic effects. Russian clinical reports describe use in anxiety and in cognitive or attention-related complaints. Most of this evidence comes from studies conducted by the same research groups that developed the peptide. Independent replication in other countries remains limited, and no major Western regulatory agency has approved the compound for any indication. The gap between local reports and external verification is a recurring point in discussions of the peptide.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular class | Synthetic heptapeptide | Stabilized analog of tuftsin |
| Sequence | Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro | Single-letter form: TKPRPGP |
| Molecular formula | C33H57N11O9 | Monoisotopic mass about 751.9 Da |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Typically supplied as lyophilized solid |
| Solubility | Freely soluble in water | Also soluble in common polar solvents |
Characterization of Selank in laboratory settings relies on standard peptide analytical techniques. Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography separates the peptide from related impurities and degradation products, while mass spectrometry confirms molecular identity through accurate mass measurement. Amino acid analysis and peptide sequencing verify the primary structure when reference material is unavailable. Because Selank is a short chain, fragmentation-based analysis produces a diagnostic ion pattern that supports confident identification.
Peptide stability depends strongly on temperature, moisture, and pH. Lyophilized Selank is generally most stable when stored cold and dry, with freezer temperatures commonly used for long-term storage. In solution, the compound is susceptible to hydrolysis and to microbial growth if it is not handled aseptically. The C-terminal proline-rich extension appears to slow enzymatic cleavage relative to tuftsin, though quantitative degradation rates vary with the matrix and the conditions tested. Published stability data specific to Selank remain sparse.
Characterization of Selank in a laboratory setting relies on standard peptide methods. Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography separates the target from related impurities and provides a purity figure, commonly reported as 95 percent or higher. Mass spectrometry, typically electrospray ionization or matrix-assisted laser desorption, confirms the molecular mass and helps detect truncation or modification. Amino acid analysis can verify composition when a sequence-level check is needed. These techniques together establish identity and purity for a given lot.
Lyophilized Selank, the dry powder form, is generally stored frozen at minus 20 degrees Celsius or colder for long-term keeping. The solid is hygroscopic and should stay sealed, dry, and protected from light. Once dissolved, the peptide is less stable and is usually held refrigerated at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius for short periods. Repeated freezing and thawing is avoided because it can promote aggregation and loss of activity. Buffers and pH choice also affect how long a solution remains usable.
Phosphorylation changes the conformation of an enzyme to a more active or inactive way (e.g. regulation of glycogen phosphorylase). Each phosphate group contains two negative charges, so the addition of this group can cause an important change in the conformation of the enzyme. The phosphate can attract positively charged amino acids or create repulsive interactions with negatively charged amino acids. These interactions can change the conformation and the function of the enzyme. When a phosphatase enzyme removes the phosphate groups, this enzyme returns to its initial conformation. Phosphorylation modifies the affinity of the enzyme to the substrate (e.g. phosphorylation of isocitrate dehydrogenase creates electrostatic repulsion which inhibits the union of the substrate to the active center). Phosphorylation can take place in the active center of the enzyme. It can change the conformation of this active center, so it can recognize the substrate or not. Also, the ionized phosphate can attract some parts of the substrate, which can join to the enzyme. Phosphorylation and dephosphorylation may take place as a result of the response to signals that warn about a change in the cell state. This means that some pathways where regulatory enzymes participate are regulated by phosphorylation after a specific signal: a change in the cell. Some enzymes can be phosphorylated in multiple sites.
==== Finance and monetary policy ==== In 2008 and 2009, Sanders voted against the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a program to purchase toxic banking assets and provide loans to banks that were in free-fall. On February 4, 2009, he sponsored an amendment to ensure that TARP funds would not displace US workers. The amendment passed and was added to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Among his proposed financial reforms is auditing the Federal Reserve, which would reduce its independence in monetary policy deliberations; Federal Reserve officials say that "Audit the Fed" legislation would expose the Federal Reserve to undue political pressure from lawmakers who do not like its decisions.
=== Domain-pair exclusion analysis === The domain-pair exclusion analysis detects specific domain interactions that are hard to detect using Bayesian methods. Bayesian methods are good at detecting nonspecific promiscuous interactions and not very good at detecting rare specific interactions. The domain-pair exclusion analysis method calculates an E-score which measures if two domains interact. It is calculated as log(probability that the two proteins interact given that the domains interact/probability that the two proteins interact given that the domains don’t interact). The probabilities required in the formula are calculated using an Expectation Maximization procedure, which is a method for estimating parameters in statistical models. High E-scores indicate that the two domains are likely to interact, while low scores indicate that other domains form the protein pair are more likely to be responsible for the interaction. The drawback with this method is that it does not take into account false positives and false negatives in the experimental data.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
I took him along to a training camp in Spain. The boy changed then into a sort of lion. He raced around as though he was powered by rockets. I went to talk to him. He was really happy he was riding well and he told me to look out for him. I asked if he wasn't perhaps "using something" and he jumped straight up, climbed on a chair and from deep inside a cupboard he pulled out a plastic bag full of pills. I felt my heart skip a beat. I had never seen so many fireworks together. With a soigneur we counted the pills: there were 5,000 of them, excluding hormone preparations and sleeping pills. I took them away, to his own relief. I let him keep the hormones and the sleeping pills. Later he seemed to have taken too many at once and he slept for a couple of days on end. We couldn't wake him up. We took him to hospital and they pumped out his stomach. They tied him to his bed to prevent anything going wrong again. But one way or another he had some stimulant and fancied taking a walk. A nurse came across him in the corridor, walking along with the bed strapped to his back. Currently modafinil is being used throughout the sporting world, with many high-profile cases attracting press coverage as prominent United States athletes have failed tests for this substance. Some athletes who were found to have used modafinil protested as the drug was not on the prohibited list at the time of their offence, however, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) maintains it is a substance related to those already banned, so the decisions stand.
=== MSG === In 1996, the FDA commissioned the Federation of American Society for Experimental Biology (FASEB) to study the effects of MSG, who concluded that MSG is safe for most people. At the time, Ajinomoto also noted the possibility that asthma patients and carriers with symptoms of Chinese restaurant syndrome symptoms may be affected, but ultimately, the safety of this group was also confirmed by subsequent test results in the United States and Australia. In 2020, Ajinomoto along with other activists launched the #RedefineCRS campaign to combat the myth that MSG is harmful to people's health, which highlights both the underlying xenophobic biases against Asian cuisine and scientific evidence that the myth is false. The FDA Food Code 2022 removed MSG from the table of common chemical hazards and associated food and control measures in retail establishments. Low-sodium salt substitutes are considered to be formulations where sodium is reduced – usually by partial or full replacement of NaCl with other chloride and non-chloride salts such as KCl, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride or potassium lactate. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) was also considered a low-sodium salt substitute.
Two Boer forces fought in this area, under Botha in the south east and under Ben Viljoen in the north east around Lydenburg. Botha's forces were particularly active, raiding railways and British supply convoys, and mounting a renewed invasion of Natal in September 1901. After defeating British mounted infantry in the Battle of Blood River Poort near Dundee, Botha was forced to withdraw by heavy rain that made movement difficult and crippled his horses. Back on the Transvaal territory around his home district of Vryheid, Botha attacked a British raiding column at Bakenlaagte, using an effective mounted charge. One of the most active British units was effectively destroyed. This made Botha's forces the target of increasingly large scorched earth drives by British forces, in which the British made particular use of native scouts and informers. Eventually, Botha had to abandon the high veld and retreat to a narrow enclave bordering Swaziland. To the north, Ben Viljoen grew steadily less active. His forces mounted comparatively few attacks and as a result, the Boer enclave around Lydenburg was largely unmolested. Viljoen was eventually captured.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
In June 2022, during the annual OECD Ministerial Council Meeting, the Roadmaps for the Accession to the OECD Convention for Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Peru and Romania were adopted. In March 2024, the Roadmaps for the Accession to the OECD were adopted with Argentina and Indonesia, and in July 2024, also with Thailand.
An exception to this wide distribution is a group of unique cofactors that evolved in methanogens, which are restricted to this group of archaea. Although enzyme catalyzed industrial processes are highly efficient, some of the enzymes are dependent on nicotinamide cofactors (NADH/NAD+, NADP/NAPH). Due to the high price of such cofactors, these processes would not be economically competitive. Recently, some synthetic organic compounds were identified as economically promising biomimetic counterparts of natural cofactors.
In this classification system, carboxypeptidases that have a stronger preference for those amino acids containing aromatic or branched hydrocarbon chains are called carboxypeptidase A (A for aromatic/aliphatic). Carboxypeptidases that cleave positively charged amino acids (arginine, lysine) are called carboxypeptidase B (B for basic). A metallo-carboxypeptidase that cleaves a C-terminal glutamate from the peptide N-acetyl-L-aspartyl-L-glutamate is called "glutamate carboxypeptidase". A serine carboxypeptidase that cleaves the C-terminal residue from peptides containing the sequence -Pro-Xaa (Pro is proline, Xaa is any amino acid on the C-terminus of a peptide) is called "prolyl carboxypeptidase".
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
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.
It was developed in Russia, at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, during the 1990s. Most published research originates from Russian institutions. Independent international replication remains limited.
Tuftsin is a natural tetrapeptide with the sequence Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg that participates in immune signaling. Selank extends that sequence with Pro-Gly-Pro at the C-terminus. The added residues are linked to greater resistance to enzymatic breakdown.
Selank is a synthetic peptide made of seven amino acids. It is modeled on tuftsin, a natural tetrapeptide, with an added three-residue tail. It is not a small-molecule drug.