What Does AOD-9604 Dissolve In? Solvents Explained
Solubility behaviour is where compounds in this library differ most sharply from one another. For AOD-9604, the determining factors are structural: 16-residue hgh c-terminal fragment analogue with one intramolecular disulfide.
Overview
Dissolves in plain water at normal working strengths. The one rule is chemical: reducing agents such as DTT or TCEP break its sulfur bridge, so keep them out.
What AOD-9604 actually is
AOD-9604 is a 16-part lab-made peptide copied from the very end of human growth hormone, with one extra building block (tyrosine) added at the front and a single sulfur-sulfur bridge holding it in a loop. Animal studies from the early 2000s looked at how it affects fat metabolism, and a later rabbit study looked at joint cartilage. It was developed in Australia as an obesity drug candidate, but that programme was stopped in 2007 and it was never approved as a medicine.
Supplied for laboratory research use only — not for human or animal use.
Third-party tested by HPLC and LC-MS, ≥99% purity, with a Certificate of Analysis on every order. Ships across Canada.
Technical detail below
How AOD-9604 behaves in solution
Water-soluble at ordinary working strengths. Two arginines give it a small net positive charge at neutral pH, which offsets the stretch of hydrophobic residues (Leu, Ile, Val, Phe). Avoid any diluent or buffer containing reducing agents such as DTT, TCEP or β-mercaptoethanol — they open the disulfide that defines the molecule.
Commonly worked at 1-5 mg/mL.
Suitable solvents, in order
Structural basis
AOD-9604 is 16-residue hgh c-terminal fragment analogue with one intramolecular disulfide. AOD-9604 is residues 177-191 of human growth hormone with an extra tyrosine added at the N-terminus (Tyr-Leu-Arg-Ile-Val-Gln-Cys-Arg-Ser-Val-Glu-Gly-Ser-Cys-Gly-Phe), closed by a disulfide between the two cysteines. It came out of Frank Ng's group at Monash University in Australia and was developed by Metabolic Pharmaceuticals in Melbourne as an obesity candidate. That programme was discontinued in 2007 after a 24-week phase 2b trial did not show a clinically meaningful outcome, and the compound never reached approval as a medicine.
What AOD-9604 is studied for
Heffernan et al. (Endocrinology 2001) compared hGH and AOD9604 over 14 days in obese mice and in β3-adrenergic-receptor knockout mice. Both raised the repressed β3-AR expression in obese mice, but neither changed body weight or lipolysis in the knockout mice over the long-term protocol, leading the authors to conclude the lipolytic actions were not mediated directly through β3-AR.
Ng et al. (Horm Res 2000) studied oral administration of AOD9604 in obese Zucker rats, reporting reduced body-weight gain and increased adipose lipolytic activity, and — unlike intact hGH — no impairment of insulin sensitivity on euglycaemic clamp.
Stier et al. (J Endocrinol Metab 2013) pooled six randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials and reported no change in serum IGF-1, no adverse effect on carbohydrate metabolism, and no anti-AOD9604 antibodies in tested participants. The same development programme did not show a clinically meaningful weight outcome.
Kwon and Park (Ann Clin Lab Sci 2015) gave intra-articular AOD9604, with or without hyaluronic acid, in a collagenase-induced knee osteoarthritis model in rabbits and scored cartilage morphology, histology and lameness.
Summarizes published preclinical literature — see the selected references below. Provided for research reference only; not a claim of efficacy or a description of human use.
- Heffernan M, Summers RJ, Thorburn A, et al. The effects of human GH and its lipolytic fragment (AOD9604) on lipid metabolism following chronic treatment in obese mice and beta(3)-AR knock-out mice. Endocrinology. 2001.
- Ng FM, Sun J, Sharma L, Libinaka R, Jiang WJ, Gianello R Metabolic studies of a synthetic lipolytic domain (AOD9604) of human growth hormone. Hormone Research. 2000.
- Stier H, Vos E, Kenley D Safety and Tolerability of the Hexadecapeptide AOD9604 in Humans. Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2013.
- Kwon DR, Park GY Effect of Intra-articular Injection of AOD9604 with or without Hyaluronic Acid in Rabbit Osteoarthritis Model. Annals of Clinical & Laboratory Science. 2015.
- Browse current AOD-9604 literature on PubMed
References describe in-vitro and preclinical research and are listed for reference only — not evidence of efficacy and not a description of human use.
More AOD-9604 reference
Lyophilized and reconstituted storage conditions, plus the practical working window.
Diluent selection, dissolution behaviour, and the calculator preset for this compound.
The specific chemical routes by which this molecule breaks down, and how to limit each.
Which assays are informative for this molecule, and what to actually check on its COA.
Compound-specific bench practices, and the errors most often made with this molecule.
What to inspect on arrival, and which conditions actually warrant rejecting a vial.
Questions specific to this compound — structure, chemistry, and common misconceptions.
Solubility reference for other compounds
Reviewed for research-use compliance by Kobi Williams, Founder — Popular Peptides Canada. Last reviewed 22 July 2026.
AOD-9604 is supplied strictly as a research chemical for in-vitro laboratory and research use only. It is not intended for human or animal consumption, diagnostic, or therapeutic use. This page is educational laboratory-handling reference information — not medical advice, not usage guidance, and not a protocol.