If you have been reading about melanocortin receptor and want a single page that covers the useful parts, this is it: definitions, context, how it is studied, and the questions that come up repeatedly.
Last reviewed on 2025-12-19. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
Early published reports described melanotan-2 as a tanning agent without sun protection, which means darkening is not the same as protection against ultraviolet radiation. Later studies explored the peptide in erectile dysfunction, hemorrhagic shock, and some skin conditions. No regulator in the United States or Europe has approved it for clinical use. Many products labelled melanotan-2 are sold without approval and their identity and purity are unverified. Its long-term safety in humans remains an open question.
Melanotan-2, also written Melanotan II, is a synthetic cyclic heptapeptide designed as an analogue of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone. Its sequence is Ac-Nle-cyclo[Asp-His-D-Phe-Arg-Trp-Lys]-NH2, and the lactam bridge between the aspartate and lysine side chains constrains the peptide into a ring. This structural change increases receptor affinity and metabolic stability relative to the native hormone. The compound was created in the 1980s as a research tool for studying pigmentation biology.
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.
Melanotan II is a synthetic peptide analog modeled on alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, a naturally occurring signaling peptide involved in pigmentation. Its structure is a cyclic heptapeptide containing two non-natural substitutions, norleucine at position four and D-phenylalanine at position seven. These modifications resist enzymatic breakdown and extend the molecule's activity relative to the native hormone. The compound binds melanocortin receptors and is studied mainly as a pharmacological tool rather than a therapeutic product. It has never received approval as a medicine in any major jurisdiction.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Compound class | Synthetic cyclic heptapeptide | Alpha-MSH analogue containing a D-phenylalanine residue |
| Molecular formula | C50H69N15O9 | Average molecular mass approximately 1024.2 g/mol |
| Appearance | White to off-white lyophilised powder | Normally supplied as a freeze-dried solid in a sealed vial |
| Solubility | Freely soluble in water and polar solvents | Dissolves readily in aqueous buffers and in alcohol-water mixtures |
| Receptor targets | MC1R, MC3R, MC4R, MC5R | Acts as a non-selective melanocortin receptor agonist |
Published pharmacokinetic information is limited and comes mainly from small studies rather than registrational trials. Plasma half-life is usually described as short, on the order of tens of minutes, followed by rapid tissue distribution and clearance of the intact peptide. Metabolites and low concentrations of parent compound have been reported in urine, a detail relevant to anti-doping and forensic testing. Whether repeated exposure changes receptor sensitivity or clearance over time remains an open question. Values differ noticeably between analytical assays, so published numbers should be read as approximate rather than definitive.
Melanotan II is a synthetic cyclic heptapeptide with the sequence Ac-Nle-cyclo[Asp-His-D-Phe-Arg-Trp-Lys]-NH2, corresponding to a molecular formula of C50H69N15O9 and a monoisotopic mass near 1024 daltons. It was designed as a structural analogue of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, a peptide hormone produced by cleavage of proopiomelanocortin. A lactam bridge between the aspartate and lysine side chains closes the ring, and the C-terminal amide removes a free carboxyl group. Both modifications increase resistance to enzymatic degradation compared with the linear parent hormone. Four substitutions distinguish it from afamelanotide, the linear analogue studied under the name melanotan I.
In the 1830s, Jeremy Bentham, the founder of utilitarianism, left instructions to be followed upon his death which led to the creation of a sort of modern-day mummy. He asked that his body be displayed to illustrate how the "horror at dissection originates in ignorance"; once so displayed and lectured about, he asked that his body parts be preserved, including his skeleton (minus his skull, which despite being mis-preserved, was displayed beneath his feet until theft required it to be stored elsewhere), which were to be dressed in the clothes he usually wore and "seated in a Chair usually occupied by me when living in the attitude in which I am sitting when engaged in thought". His body, outfitted with a wax head created because of problems preparing it as Bentham requested, is on open display in the University College London.
A poll found that California voters thought the most important issue for Newsom and the state legislature to work on in 2020 was homelessness. In his first week of office, Newsom threatened to withhold state funding for infrastructure to communities that failed to take actions to alleviate California's housing shortage. In late January 2019, he announced that he would sue Huntington Beach for preventing the construction of affordable housing. A year later, the city acted to settle the lawsuit by the state. Newsom opposes NIMBY (not-in-my-back-yard) sentiment, declaring in 2022 that "NIMBYism is destroying the state". In 2021, he signed a pair of bills into law that made zoning regulations for housing less restrictive, allowing construction of duplexes and fourplexes in lots that were previously zoned exclusively for single-family homes. Newsom also signed a bill that expedites the environmental review process for new multifamily developments worth at least $15,000,000. To participate, developers must apply directly through the governor's office. In 2022, Newsom signed 39 bills into law intended to address California's housing crisis, three of which entailed major land use reform. One bill eliminated minimum parking requirements for housing near mass transit stations throughout the state. Michael Manville, an urban planning professor at UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs, called it "one of the biggest land-use reforms in the country".
Its inhabitants—referred to as "Wellies"—wear white "Happy Face" masks, which were created to forcefully mold the wearer's cheekbones into a smile, resulting in the wearer permanently smiling. Joy is freely dispensed in pill form and is also laced into the city's water supply. To encourage the drug's consumption, the media is tightly controlled and centers on "Uncle" Jack Worthing, a friendly presenter whose voice and image widely broadcasts government propaganda over the city's televisions and radios. Some Wellies developed immunity to Joy—partly due to ingesting bad batches of the drug—and subsequently became depressed or insane from remembering the Very Bad Thing; these people were then driven out of Wellington Wells and came to be known as "Wastrels". Others who voluntarily refuse their Joy are known as "Downers" and seen as a threat; if caught, Downers are either force-fed Joy, are taken to a Joy Doctor to get a potentially lethal liquid injection of Joy, or are outright killed on the spot. As a result, Wellington Wells has become a dystopian police state on the verge of collapse.
Twenty of Bukele's governmental institutions were investigated by the office of the attorney general in November 2020 for corruption related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the investigations were halted after the attorney general was removed by the Legislative Assembly on 1 May 2021. The United States has placed sanctions on several of Bukele's government officials, labeling them as corrupt. The officials include Javier Argueta (presidential advisor), Osiris Luna Meza (general director of penal centers), Carlos Marroquín Chica (chairman of the Social Fabric Reconstruction Unit), Martha Carolina Recinos (chief of the cabinet), Rogelio Rivas (former minister of justice), Ernesto Sanabria (press secretary), and Alejandro Zelaya (former minister of finance). The U.S. also considered some of Bukele's Legislative Assembly allies corrupt, including Guillermo Gallegos and Christian Guevara. Some of the individuals are included on the U.S. State Department's "Engel List" of Central American politicians and judges considered "corrupt and undemocratic". Bukele called the sanctions and labels "absurd". In May 2021, the United States diverted El Salvador funding from government institutions to civil society groups to combat perceived corruption in Bukele's government. On 11 November 2021, Bukele introduced the "Foreign Agents Law" to the Legislative Assembly with the goal of "prohibiting foreign interference" in Salvadoran political affairs.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
The removal of dead cells by neighboring phagocytic cells has been termed efferocytosis. Dying cells that undergo the final stages of apoptosis display apoptotic-cell associated molecular patterns (ACAMPs), such as phosphatidylserine on the outer leaflet of the cell membrane. Phosphatidylserine is normally found on the inner leaflet surface of the plasma membrane, but is redistributed during apoptosis to the extracellular surface by a protein known as scramblase. These molecules mark the cell for phagocytosis by cells possessing the appropriate receptors, such as macrophages. The removal of dying cells by phagocytes occurs in an orderly manner without eliciting an inflammatory response. During apoptosis cellular RNA and DNA are separated from each other and sorted to different apoptotic bodies; separation of RNA is initiated as nucleolar segregation.
In 2020, PTC acquired Censa Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of CNSA-001 (sepiapterin), a clinical-stage investigational therapy for orphan metabolic diseases, including phenylketonuria (PKU) and other diseases associated with defects in the tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) biochemical pathways diagnosed at birth. In 2020, PTC announced the FDA approval of Evrysdi (risdiplam) for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in adults and children 2 months and older. In 2024, Novartis has committed $1 billion upfront in a licensing deal with PTC Therapeutics for an experimental treatment for Huntington’s disease, with the potential for an additional $1.9 billion tied to achieving specific development, regulatory, and commercial milestones. PTC Therapeutics’ therapy, known as PTC518, is an oral medication designed to reduce the production of the mutant protein linked to the genetic mutation responsible for the disease. This mutant protein is believed to contribute to neuronal death, driving disease progression. In June, interim data from a Phase 2 trial indicated that PTC518 successfully lowered levels of the mutant protein in both blood and cerebrospinal fluid.
One study reviewed the relative diagnostic value of enzyme and bicarbonate concentrations compared with enzyme output in 363 secretin-CCK tests. The investigators also evaluated the requirement for perfusion markers to accurately quantify volume, and the validity of a shortened sampling time (first 20 minutes). Only 60 percent of volume was recovered with the duodenal aspiration tube, suggesting that marker perfusion to correct for distal loss of secretion is important to accurately quantify volume. Using a trypsin output <50 U/kg/h as the reference standard, measurement of enzyme concentration alone misclassified approximately 10 percent of patients. Use of a shortened collection time misclassified approximately 4 percent of patients. The authors concluded that this was an unacceptably high rate of misclassification and that the standard prolonged collection of fluid using a perfusion marker must be performed to accurately measure exocrine function.
Due to actinium's intense radioactivity, only a limited number of actinium compounds are known. These include: AcF3, AcCl3, AcBr3, AcOF, AcOCl, AcOBr, Ac2S3, Ac2O3, AcPO4 and Ac(NO3)3. They all contain actinium in the oxidation state +3. In particular, the lattice constants of the analogous lanthanum and actinium compounds differ by only a few percent.
=== Absorption and distribution === Oral bioavailability of trimebutine is nearly 100% for the maleate salt. Maximum serum concentration (Cmax) is achieved after 30 minutes for 100 mg dose and 0.88 h for 200 mg dose. The level of serum albumin binding is minimal. Half-life (t1/2) of 200 mg timebutine maleate is equal to 2.77 h.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
The Students' Union's primary role is to provide a recognised representative channel between undergraduates and the university and college authorities. In February 2009, the university announced the Students' Union-run RAG Week would "no longer form part of the university calendar". The President of the Students' Union expressed the belief that the decision was unjustified, citing the more than €20,000 raised for charities that year. RAG Week continued unofficially until 2024, when the fundraising event returned with support from the Students' Union.
== Redox reactions in industry == Cathodic protection is a technique used to control the corrosion of a metal surface by making it the cathode of an electrochemical cell. A simple method of protection connects protected metal to a more easily corroded "sacrificial anode" to act as the anode. The sacrificial metal, instead of the protected metal, then corrodes. Oxidation is used in many industries, such as in the production of cleaning products and oxidizing ammonia to produce nitric acid, whose principal industrial route is the catalytic oxidation of ammonia in the Ostwald process. Redox reactions are the foundation of electrochemical cells, which can generate electrical energy or support electrosynthesis. Metal ores often contain metals in oxidized states, such as oxides or sulfides, from which the pure metals are extracted by smelting at high temperatures in the presence of a reducing agent. The process of electroplating uses redox reactions to coat objects with a thin layer of a material, as in chrome-plated automotive parts, silver plating cutlery, galvanization and gold-plated jewelry.
Many of Pauling's critics, including scientists who appreciated the contributions that he had made in chemistry, disagreed with his political positions and saw him as a naïve spokesman for Soviet communism. In 1960, he was ordered to appear before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, which termed him "the number one scientific name in virtually every major activity of the Communist peace offensive in this country". A headline in Life magazine characterized his 1962 Nobel Prize as "A Weird Insult from Norway". Pauling was a frequent target of the National Review magazine. In an article entitled "The Collaborators" in the magazine's July 17, 1962, issue, Pauling was referred to not only as a collaborator, but as a "fellow traveler" of proponents of Soviet-style communism. In 1963, Pauling sued the magazine, its publisher William Rusher, and its editor William F. Buckley, Jr for $1 million. He lost both his libel suits and the 1968 appeal (unlike his earlier 1963 libel case against the Hearst Corporation), because in the meantime the landmark case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan had established the actual malice standard for libel lawsuits by public figures, requiring that not only falsehood but deliberate lying should be proved by the plaintiff in such cases. His peace activism, his frequent travels, and his enthusiastic expansion into chemical-biomedical research all aroused opposition at Caltech. In 1958, the Caltech Board of Trustees demanded that Pauling step down as chairman of the Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Division.
== History == Approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was based on TRIDENT-1, a global, multicenter, single-arm, open-label, multi-cohort clinical trial (NCT03093116) which included participants with ROS1-positive locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Efficacy was evaluated in 71 ROS1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor-naïve participants who received up to one prior line of platinum-based chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy and 56 participants who received one prior ROS1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor with no prior platinum-based chemotherapy or immunotherapy. The FDA granted the application for repotrectinib priority review, breakthrough therapy, and fast track designations.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
No. It is a laboratory-made peptide, while the natural hormone is alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, a longer peptide produced by the pituitary gland and by skin cells. Melanotan-2 mimics only a short active region of that hormone and contains non-natural residues such as D-phenylalanine.
No approved regulatory indication exists in major markets. An approval exists for a different peptide, afamelanotide, which is used for a rare photosensitivity disorder called erythropoietic protoporphyria. Melanotan-2 itself remains a research compound with no cleared clinical role.
Melanocortin-1 receptors on melanocytes are the receptor most closely linked to pigment production. The peptide is not selective, however, and also activates melanocortin-3, melanocortin-4, and melanocortin-5 receptors. That lack of selectivity is the usual explanation offered for both its range of observed effects and its off-target effects.
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.