This is a working overview of cyclic heptapeptide, written for readers who want more than a one-paragraph summary but less than a textbook.
Reviewed 2026-08-01. Anything still debated is marked as such rather than presented as settled.
Melanotan-2 is a synthetic cyclic heptapeptide designed as an analogue of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone. Its sequence incorporates a lactam bridge that constrains the peptide into a ring, which increases resistance to enzymatic breakdown relative to the natural hormone. Researchers at the University of Arizona synthesised the compound in the late 1980s and early 1990s while studying pigmentation pathways. It has never received marketing approval from any national medicines regulator. In the scientific literature it is usually described as a laboratory research reagent rather than a therapeutic product.
The peptide acts as a non-selective agonist at melanocortin receptors, showing affinity for MC1R, MC3R, MC4R and MC5R. Activation of MC1R on melanocytes drives the conversion of tyrosine into melanin and shifts production toward the darker eumelanin form. MC4R signalling in the central nervous system is linked to appetite and energy balance, which helps explain why reduced food intake appeared in early human studies. Effects on MC4R and on vascular tone also account for the erectile responses recorded as unexpected findings in those same trials.
The compound was developed in the late 1980s and 1990s by academic researchers investigating photoprotection. The rationale held that stimulating melanin production might reduce ultraviolet damage to skin and lower skin cancer risk. Early work examined receptor binding, pigment response, and short-term tolerability in small studies. That program did not produce an approved drug, and formal development stalled after early-phase trials. Whether induced pigmentation confers meaningful photoprotection remains an open question.
Outside regulated medicine, melanotan II circulates through online vendors as a research chemical, often marketed for tanning. Products sold this way vary widely in purity, concentration, and labeling accuracy, and independent testing has documented discrepancies. Published reports describe both pigment effects and adverse reactions, including nausea, flushing, and darkening of existing moles. Long-term safety data are sparse, and no large controlled trial has established a risk profile. Questions about cumulative effects on melanocytes remain unresolved in the literature.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical class | Synthetic cyclic heptapeptide | Alpha-MSH analogue with a lactam ring |
| Molecular formula | C50H69N15O9 | Commonly cited value for the neutral peptide |
| Molecular weight | 1024.18 g/mol | Calculated for the free molecule |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Typically supplied as a lyophilised solid |
| Solubility | Soluble in water, DMSO and ethanol | Dissolution in pure water is often slow |
Structurally, Melanotan-2 retains the core recognition motif of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone while adding a lactam bridge that links two side chains and constrains the molecule into a ring. This modification lowers susceptibility to enzymatic degradation. The compound acts as an agonist at melanocortin receptors, particularly subtypes associated with melanin production. Because the same receptor family influences several physiological processes, researchers note that its activity is not confined to pigmentation alone. Receptor selectivity continues to be examined in published studies.
Melanotan-2 is a synthetic cyclic heptapeptide designed as an analogue of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, a naturally occurring peptide involved in pigmentation signalling. Its sequence incorporates modified residues that increase potency and extend biological activity relative to the native hormone. The compound binds receptors of the melanocortin family and is examined mainly in laboratory research. It does not occur naturally and exists only as a manufactured chemical entity produced by solid-phase synthesis.
The peptide was developed during the 1980s by researchers investigating melanocortin signalling and skin pigmentation pathways. Early work focused on analogues of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone that would resist enzymatic breakdown more effectively than the parent molecule. Melanotan-2 emerged from that programme as a shortened, cyclised variant. Reports describing its synthesis and receptor activity later appeared in the scientific literature. Commercial availability grew through unregulated channels rather than through pharmaceutical approval.
Melanocortin receptors comprise five subtypes with distinct tissue distributions and functions. Melanotan-2 is described in the literature as a non-selective agonist that engages several of these subtypes, including MC1R, MC3R, MC4R, and MC5R. MC1R is the subtype most directly linked to melanin production in skin cells. Because the compound is not subtype-selective, its observed effects in experimental settings are generally attributed to activity across multiple receptor pathways rather than to a single target.
Melanotan-2 is a synthetic linear peptide built from seven amino acids arranged in a short chain. Its sequence is commonly written as Ac-Nle-Asp-His-D-Phe-Arg-Trp-Lys-NH2, which includes a modified N-terminus and an amidated C-terminus. The molecule belongs to the melanocortin family and acts as a receptor agonist. Structural features such as the D-phenylalanine residue and the Nle substitution are associated with increased stability against enzymatic degradation relative to the natural parent peptide.
=== Research applications === Ribosomal proteins: For the studies of individual ribosomal proteins, the use of proteins that are produced and purified from recombinant sources has largely replaced those that are obtained through isolation. However, isolation is still required for the studies of the whole ribosome. Lysosomal proteins: Lysosomal proteins are difficult to produce recombinantly due to the number and type of post-translational modifications that they have (e.g. glycosylation). As a result, recombinant lysosomal proteins are usually produced in mammalian cells. Plant cell culture was used to produce FDA-approved glycosylated lysosomal protein-drug, and additional drug candidates. Recent studies have shown that it may be possible to produce recombinant lysosomal proteins with microorganisms such as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Recombinant lysosomal proteins are used for both research and medical applications, such as enzyme replacement therapy.
The first observations and size measurements of nano-particles were made during the first decade of the 20th century. Zsigmondy made detailed studies of gold sols and other nanomaterials with sizes down to 10 nm and less. He published a book in 1914. He used an ultramicroscope that employs a dark field method for seeing particles with sizes much less than light wavelength. There are traditional techniques developed during the 20th century in interface and colloid science for characterizing nanomaterials. These are widely used for first generation passive nanomaterials specified in the next section. These methods include several different techniques for characterizing particle size distribution. This characterization is imperative because many materials that are expected to be nano-sized are actually aggregated in solutions. Some of methods are based on light scattering. Others apply ultrasound, such as ultrasound attenuation spectroscopy for testing concentrated nano-dispersions and microemulsions. There is also a group of traditional techniques for characterizing surface charge or zeta potential of nano-particles in solutions. This information is required for proper system stabilization, preventing its aggregation or flocculation. These methods include microelectrophoresis, electrophoretic light scattering, and electroacoustics. The last one, for instance colloid vibration current method is suitable for characterizing concentrated systems.
Somorjai (born 1935), 1998 Wolf Prize in Chemistry Georg Ernst Stahl (1659–1734), Important work on fermentation Wendell Meredith Stanley (1904–1971), 1946 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Jean Servais Stas (1813–1891), Belgian analytical chemist Branko Stanovnik (born 1938), chemist Hermann Staudinger (1881–1965), polymer chemist, 1953 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Harry Steenbock (1886–1967), American biochemist, worked on ultraviolet irradiation William Howard Stein (1911–1980), 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Thomas A. Steitz (1940–2018), 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Douglas Stephan, Frustrated Lewis Pairs Rose Stern (1869–1953), first British woman member of the Royal Institute of Chemistry Alfred Stock (1876–1946), German inorganic chemist, known for work in mercury poisoning Brian Stoltz (born 1970), award-winning American organic chemist. Fraser Stoddart (1942–2024), Scottish chemist, a pioneer in the field of the mechanical bond Molly Shoichet, award-winning Canadian biomedical engineer known for her work in tissue engineering. She is the only person to be a fellow of the three National Academies in Canada F. Gordon A. Stone (1925–2011), British inorganic chemist S. Donald Stookey (1915–2014), American glass and ceramic chemist Gilbert Stork (1921–2017), 1995/6 Wolf Prize in Chemistry Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz (1829–1896), German organic chemist, principal founder of chemical structure Yellapragada Subbarow (1895-1948), Indian biochemist known for discovery of ATP and synthesis of many new ground breaking compounds James B.
== Clinical significance == The gastrointestinal wall can be affected in a number of conditions. An ulcer is something that's eroded through the epithelium of the wall. Ulcers that affect the tract include peptic ulcers and perforated ulcer is one that has eroded completely through the layers. The gastrointestinal wall is inflamed in a number of conditions. This is called esophagitis, gastritis, duodenitis, ileitis, and colitis depending on the parts affected. It can be due to infections or other conditions, including coeliac disease, and inflammatory bowel disease affects the layers of the gastrointestinal tract in different ways. Ulcerative colitis involves the colonic mucosa. Crohn's disease may produce inflammation in all layers in any part of the gastrointestinal tract and so can result in transmural fistulae. Invasion of tumours through the layers of the gastrointestinal wall is used in staging of tumour spread. This affects treatment and prognosis. The normal thickness of the small intestinal wall is 3–5 mm, and 1–5 mm in the large intestine. Focal, irregular and asymmetrical gastrointestinal wall thickening suggests a malignancy. Segmental or diffuse gastrointestinal wall thickening is most often due to ischemic, inflammatory or infectious disease.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
In late 1915 the British High Commissioner to Egypt, Henry McMahon, exchanged ten letters with Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, in which he promised Hussein to recognize Arab independence "in the limits and boundaries proposed by the Sherif of Mecca" in return for Hussein launching a revolt against the Ottoman Empire. The pledge excluded "portions of Syria" lying to the west of "the districts of Damascus, Homs, Hama and Aleppo". In the decades after the war, the extent of this coastal exclusion was hotly disputed since Palestine lay to the southwest of Damascus and was not explicitly mentioned.
The reaction involves adsorption of protons onto S8 clusters, followed by disproportionation into the reaction products. The second, fourth and sixth ionization energies of sulfur are 2252 kJ/mol, 4556 kJ/mol and 8495.8 kJ/mol, respectively. The composition of reaction products of sulfur with oxidants (and its oxidation state) depends on whether releasing of reaction energy overcomes these thresholds. Applying catalysts and/or supply of external energy may vary sulfur's oxidation state and the composition of reaction products. While reaction between sulfur and oxygen under normal conditions gives sulfur dioxide (oxidation state +4), formation of sulfur trioxide (oxidation state +6) requires a temperature of 400–600 °C (750–1,100 °F) and presence of a catalyst. In reactions with elements of lesser electronegativity, it reacts as an oxidant and forms sulfides, where it has oxidation state −2. Sulfur reacts with nearly all other elements except noble gases, even with the notoriously unreactive metal iridium (yielding iridium disulfide). Some of those reactions require elevated temperatures.
=== Geometry === The majority of β-strands are arranged adjacent to other strands and form an extensive hydrogen bond network with their neighbors in which the N−H groups in the backbone of one strand establish hydrogen bonds with the C=O groups in the backbone of the adjacent strands. In the fully extended β-strand, successive side chains point straight up and straight down in an alternating pattern. Adjacent β-strands in a β-sheet are aligned so that their Cα atoms are adjacent and their side chains point in the same direction. The "pleated" appearance of β-strands arises from tetrahedral chemical bonding at the Cα atom; for example, if a side chain points straight up, then the bonds to the C′ must point slightly downwards, since its bond angle is approximately 109.5°. The pleating causes the distance between Cαi and Cαi + 2 to be approximately 6 Å (0.60 nm), rather than the 7.6 Å (0.76 nm) expected from two fully extended trans peptides. The "sideways" distance between adjacent Cα atoms in hydrogen-bonded β-strands is roughly 5 Å (0.50 nm).
During the Second World War, Nazi Germany effectively enslaved about 12 million people, both those considered undesirable and citizens of conquered countries, with the avowed intention of treating these Untermenschen (sub-humans) as a permanent slave-class of inferior beings who could be worked until they died, and who possessed neither the rights nor the legal status of members of the Aryan race. Besides Jews, the harshest deportation and forced labour policies were applied to the populations of Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. By the end of the war, half of Belarus' population had been killed or deported.
== Drug prices == The British medical start-up, Medbelle, surveyed the prices of 13 common drugs in 50 nations worldwide. Thailand's prices for the medications were 94% below the aggregated median price for the 13 drugs in the nations studied. The worst performer, the US, was found to be 307% above the median. Among ASEAN nations, Malaysia and Indonesia also had prices 90% below the median.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
It is a synthetic cyclic heptapeptide modelled on alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone. A lactam bridge links two side chains, forming a ring that stabilises the molecule against proteolysis. It belongs to the broader melanocortin peptide family.
No national medicines agency has approved melanotan-2 for clinical use. Afamelanotide, a related but distinct peptide, holds a marketing authorisation in the European Union for a rare photosensitivity disorder. Melanotan-2 itself is handled as a laboratory chemical.
Its broad activity across melanocortin receptors makes it a tool for probing pigmentation, appetite and vascular signalling. Early trials recorded skin darkening and other effects that were not the original focus of the work. Those observations generated hypotheses that later studies have examined.
It is a synthetic cyclic peptide designed as an analog of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone. It acts on melanocortin receptors and is best known from research into pigmentation. It is not an approved pharmaceutical product.