How to Read a Semax Certificate of Analysis (COA)
A Certificate of Analysis is only useful if you know which number on it matters for the compound in front of you. For Semax, the informative checks are not the same as for a generic short peptide.
Overview
Confirm the weight lands near 813.9, then look just above it for a small companion peak at plus 16 — the signature of oxygen damage. For a molecule this short, testing separates things cleanly, so a single clean peak is a strong quality signal.
What Semax actually is
Semax was built in a Moscow laboratory by taking a four-amino-acid piece of ACTH — a stress hormone — and adding a short tail so enzymes could not destroy it within seconds. That piece was chosen specifically because it carries nerve-related properties without the hormonal effects of the full molecule.
Supplied for laboratory research use only — not for human or animal use.
Third-party tested for HPLC purity and content, ≥99% purity, with a Certificate of Analysis available on request. Ships across Canada.
Technical detail below
Assays that are informative for Semax
What to check on the COA
Verify the molecular ion at 813.9 Da and check for a +16 Da oxidised species. For a peptide this short, RP-HPLC resolves related substances well, so a clean single peak is a strong quality signal.
Methionine sulfoxide and des-Met deletion sequence.
Verify a Popular Peptides batch
Third-party tested for HPLC purity and content (≥99% purity), with the Certificate of Analysis for your batch available on request. Batch lookups are in our members-only area.
What Semax is studied for
One of the most-cited research findings is upregulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in animal models.
A substantial Russian literature examines the compound in cerebral ischemia models.
Investigated in behavioural models measuring attention and memory consolidation.
The ACTH(4-7) fragment was selected specifically because it lacks the hormonal activity of the full sequence.
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.
- Dolotov OV, Karpenko EA, Inozemtseva LS, et al. Semax, an analog of ACTH(4-10) with cognitive effects, regulates BDNF and trkB expression in the rat hippocampus. Brain Res. 2006.
- Browse current Semax 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 Semax reference
Lyophilized and reconstituted storage conditions, plus the practical working window.
Diluent selection, dissolution behaviour, and the calculator preset for this compound.
Which solvents work, why, and what abnormal dissolution behaviour indicates.
The specific chemical routes by which this molecule breaks down, and how to limit each.
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.
Purity & COA reference for other compounds
Reviewed for research-use compliance by Kobi Williams, Founder — Popular Peptides Canada. Last reviewed 22 July 2026.
Semax 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.