This is a working overview of MC1R, written for readers who want more than a one-paragraph summary but less than a textbook.
This page was last updated on 2026-05-22 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.
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.
Melanocytes are the pigment-producing cells of the skin, and they carry melanocortin-1 receptors on their surface. When the receptor is activated, cyclic adenosine monophosphate rises inside the cell and raises the activity of enzymes such as tyrosinase, which increases melanin output. Melanotan-2 binds melanocortin-1 receptors in vitro and in animal models, and this binding is generally described as the basis for the tanning effect. Other receptors account for different effects: melanocortin-4 receptors contribute to appetite and erectile signalling, while melanocortin-3 and melanocortin-5 receptors contribute to energy balance and exocrine function.
Identity and purity are usually assessed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, which separates the target peptide from truncated or oxidised impurities. Mass spectrometry, most often coupled to liquid chromatography, confirms molecular mass and detects substitutions that chromatography alone may miss. Amino acid analysis and peptide mapping supply additional structural evidence, while nuclear magnetic resonance is reserved for full structural confirmation. Laboratories that examine samples sold online report wide variation in actual content, with some vials containing little or none of the labelled material.
Melanotan-2 appears on the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list within the peptide hormone class, and several national regulators treat it as an unapproved prescription substance. Some countries restrict importation or sale for personal use. Because the compound is widely traded as a research chemical, the practical legal picture differs between jurisdictions and shifts over time. Human safety data covering long periods are limited, and whether repeated pigmentation changes carry any lasting risk to melanocytes remains an open question.
| 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 |
Regulatory treatment varies between countries. Several national medicines agencies have classified the peptide as unapproved, and customs authorities in some jurisdictions seize shipments on that basis. A few jurisdictions channel supply through prescription-only frameworks that do not list the substance by name. Because the material circulates mainly through online vendors, composition and purity are rarely verified before sale. Surveys of unapproved peptide products have reported labels that did not match measured content in a substantial fraction of samples.
Melanotan II is a synthetic cyclic heptapeptide analogue of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, a naturally occurring peptide involved in pigmentation signalling. Its structure substitutes a lactam bridge between side chains to increase stability relative to the native hormone. The compound is also known by the shorthand MT-II and by several non-proprietary synonyms used in research catalogues. It is not an approved therapeutic product in any major jurisdiction; material sold under this name is typically offered as a laboratory reagent rather than as a medicine.
Activity is attributed to agonism at melanocortin receptors, particularly MC1R and MC4R. Activation of MC1R on melanocytes increases melanin synthesis, which underlies the reported tanning effect. MC4R engagement in the central nervous system is linked to appetite suppression and to effects on sexual arousal reported in early clinical studies. Those studies were small and were not designed to establish efficacy or long-term safety. Receptor selectivity among the melanocortin subtypes is not absolute, which complicates attribution of any effect to a single pathway.
Solid peptide kept dry at minus twenty degrees Celsius, shielded from light and moisture, is generally considered stable for extended periods. Solutions are divided into single-use aliquots and held at minus twenty or minus eighty degrees Celsius, because repeated freeze-thaw cycles promote aggregation and loss of material to container surfaces. Hydrolysis of the backbone and oxidation of tryptophan are the principal degradation routes in aqueous solution, and both accelerate at ambient temperature. Hygroscopic uptake after a vial is opened can also shift the actual mass weighed, which affects any concentration calculated from it.
Routine characterisation relies on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection near 214 nanometres, using a C18 column and a water-acetonitrile gradient containing trifluoroacetic acid. Electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry confirms the expected molecular mass and can reveal truncated or oxidised by-products that co-elute poorly. Sequence and stereochemistry require additional work, such as peptide mapping or amino acid analysis, because a chromatographic purity figure alone does not distinguish a diastereomer from the target peptide. Independent testing of research-grade material frequently shows measured content below the stated label, so a certificate of analysis is best read together with the method that produced it.
In 2001, a team at the University of Rome La Sapienza conducted a neutralization-reionization mass spectrometry experiment to investigate the structure of free O4 molecules. Their results did not agree with either of the two proposed molecular structures, but they did agree with a complex between two O2 molecules, one in the ground state and the other in a specific excited state. A chain structure is theoretically possible, but attempts at advanced computational analysis found that it rearranged to the D2d structure.
Galloway wrote to the committee saying: "I had nothing to do with any oil deals done by Mr Fawaz Zureikat or anyone else. He and any other company involved were trading on their own behalf". Aziz was also interviewed for the Volcker Committee, but changed his story, which the committee considered unconvincing.
==== U.S. regulatory restrictions ==== The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) position is that red yeast rice products that contain monacolin K are identical to a prescription drug and, thus, subject to regulation as a drug. In 1998, the FDA initiated action to ban a product (Cholestin) containing red yeast rice extract. The U.S. District Court in Utah ruled in favor of allowing the product to be sold without restriction. This decision was reversed on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 2001. In 2007, the FDA sent warning letters to two dietary supplement companies. One was making a monacolin content claim about its RYR product and the other was not, but the FDA noted that both products contained monacolins. Both products were withdrawn. In a press release the FDA "...is warning consumers to not buy or eat red yeast rice products... may contain an unauthorized drug that could be harmful to health." The rationale for "harmful to health" was that consumers might not understand that the dangers of monacolin-containing red yeast rice are the same as those of prescription statin drugs. A products analysis report from 2010 tested 12 products commercially available in the U.S. and reported that per 600 mg capsule, total monacolins content ranged from 0.31 to 11.15 mg. A 2017 study tested 28 brands of red yeast rice supplements purchased from U.S. retailers, stating "the quantity of monacolin K varied from none to prescription strength". Many of these avoid FDA regulation by not having any appreciable monacolin content.
Therefore almost all patients will in addition require immunosuppressants, such as prednisone, mycophenolate or azathioprine, as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors alone are insufficient. The surgical removal of the thymus may improve symptoms in certain cases. Plasmapheresis and high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin may be used when oral medications are insufficient to treat severe symptoms, including during sudden flares of the condition. On rare occasions the respiratory muscles can become significantly weak, subsequent mechanical ventilation may then be required. Once intubated, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors may be temporarily withheld to reduce airway secretions. Myasthenia gravis affects 50 to 200 people per million. It is newly diagnosed in 3 to 30 people per million each year. Increased awareness has made diagnosis more common. Myasthenia gravis most commonly occurs in women under the age of 40 and in men over the age of 60. It is uncommon in children. With treatment, most have fulfilling lives and have a normal life expectancy. The word is from the Greek mys, "muscle" and asthenia "weakness", and the Latin gravis, "serious".
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
The 1960s and 1970s saw a great deal of activity (and expenditure) in the recovery of manganese nodules from the abyssal plains, with varying degrees of success. This does demonstrate, however, that the recovery of minerals from the seafloor is possible and has been possible for some time. Mining of manganese nodules served as a cover story for the elaborate attempt in 1974 by the CIA to raise the sunken Soviet submarine K-129 using the Glomar Explorer, a ship purpose-built for the task by Howard Hughes. The operation was known as Project Azorian, and the cover story of seafloor mining of manganese nodules may have served as the impetus to propel other companies to make the attempt.
Dermcidin is a protein with 110 amino acids that in humans is encoded by the DCD gene. The full-length protein produces derived peptides as proteolysis-inducing factor (PIF) and other anti-microbial peptides, secreted by human eccrine sweat glands onto the skin as a part of the innate host defense of the immune system. PIF is involved in muscular proteolysis.
The use of C–H functionalization in the synthesis of lithospheric acid exemplifies the site- and stereoselective capabilities of using MPAA ligands in these reactions. As the penultimate step, the intermolecular C–H olefination introduces almost double the complexity into the compound enabling the highly convergent synthesis.
=== Position of Tantulocarida === According to Petrunina A.S. and Kolbasov G.A., the sixth subclass of Maxillopoda Tantulocarida may lie within Thecostraca, forming a clade with thecostracan infraclass Cirripedia (if so, Thecostraca excluding Tantulocarida is paraphyletic):
Uranium-233, bred from thorium-232 by neutron capture with intermediate decays steps omitted. Uranium-235, which occurs in natural uranium and enriched uranium Plutonium-239, bred from uranium-238 by neutron capture with intermediate decays steps omitted. Plutonium-241, bred from plutonium-240 directly by neutron capture. Fissile nuclides do not have a 100% chance of undergoing fission on absorption of a neutron. The chance is dependent on the nuclide as well as neutron energy. For low and medium-energy neutrons, the neutron capture cross sections for fission (σF), the cross section for neutron capture with emission of a gamma ray (σγ), and the percentage of non-fissions are in the table at right. Fertile nuclides in nuclear fuels include:
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.
The lyophilised solid is best kept cold, dry and dark, typically at minus twenty degrees Celsius. Moisture and repeated warming cycles are the main causes of degradation. Solutions prepared from the powder are less stable and are normally used quickly.