How do you reconstitute Selank or Semax?

Both are small, highly water-soluble heptapeptides (Selank ~751 Da, Semax ~813 Da, acetate salt) with no disulphide bridges, so they dissolve readily. As a laboratory-handling procedure, bacteriostatic water is introduced slowly down the inside wall of the vial rather than aimed at the powder cake, then swirled gently to dissolve — never shaken, since shaking shears and can denature the peptide. A 5 mg vial reconstituted with 1 mL of bacteriostatic water yields a 5 mg/mL solution. This is reconstitution math for research handling, not a use instruction; neither peptide is an approved medicine in any major Western jurisdiction.

Are Selank and Semax taken intranasally?

The Russian clinical literature administers both peptides intranasally — as nasal drops or solution — rather than by subcutaneous injection. The olfactory pathway gives a route from the nasal mucosa toward central nervous-system targets that bypasses first-pass hepatic metabolism, which is why the route is intrinsic to the research design rather than incidental. Describing this is administration-research, not a use instruction. One open question carried through the literature is that intranasal-versus-subcutaneous pharmacokinetics — bioavailability and central-target engagement — remain under-characterised, so converting an intranasal research figure into an injectable dose crosses a route boundary the published work has not validated.

Is there a recommended Selank or Semax dose?

No. There is no validated Western human dose of either peptide, because neither is an approved medicine in any major Western jurisdiction — there is no regulator-reviewed label, marketed strength, or Western dose-ranging programme. The dose figures repeated on forums and vendor pages are extrapolations that echo Russian clinical courses, not established protocols. Both peptides have been used clinically in the Russian Federation, but that does not confer approved-medicine status in the West. Every figure in the research literature should be read as ‘what a study administered’, never as a regimen to follow. This is research education, not medical advice.

How should Selank and Semax be stored?

As lyophilised powders, both are most stable at -20°C, protected from light. Once reconstituted with bacteriostatic water, the solution is generally kept refrigerated at 2-8°C and used within the window stated on the vendor’s documentation — typically around 28 days, since the benzyl-alcohol preservative in bacteriostatic water allows a reconstituted multi-use vial to remain usable across that period. Because both are short, easily synthesised peptides, manufacturing quality varies, so purity verification matters: a research-grade material should carry a third-party RP-HPLC assay of at least 98% peak area plus mass-spectrometry confirmation of the parent ion.

How many mg are in a Selank or Semax vial?

Both are most commonly supplied as 5 mg of lyophilised peptide per vial (peptide free-base, acetate salt). The mass per vial determines the working concentration after reconstitution: a 5 mg vial in 1 mL of bacteriostatic water gives 5 mg/mL, in 2 mL gives 2.5 mg/mL, and in 5 mL gives 1 mg/mL. Because the Russian research route is intranasal, the reconstituted solution is dispensed by metered volume rather than insulin-syringe units. The label mass is only trustworthy if confirmed by a third-party COA showing RP-HPLC purity and the mass-spectrometry parent ion (Selank ~752, Semax ~814 [M+H]+).

Research · Selank & Semax cluster

Selank and Semax dosing research — intranasal protocols, reconstitution, handling

Creator: Wellness Labs Editorial
Published: 2026-06-12
Keywords: Selank Semax dosing, Selank dosing, Semax dosing, how to reconstitute Selank, Semax intranasal, Selank Semax reconstitution, Semax nasal spray research, Selank storage

Wellness Labs Editorial·12 June 2026·8 min read

Medically reviewed by

Wellness Labs Research Team · Research and Editorial

Last reviewed 1 June 2026

“What is the Selank dose? What is the Semax dose?” are among the most-searched questions about the paired Russian nootropic peptides — and, as with most research compounds, the honest answer starts by correcting the premise. There is no validated Western human dose of either peptide, because neither is an approved medicine in any major Western jurisdiction. What exists is a published research record — largely Russian-language — describing the amounts those studies administered, and the route they used: intranasally, not by injection. This spoke reports those figures descriptively, explains why the route matters for reconstitution, and is explicit throughout that it is a research reference, not a protocol to follow.

TL;DR

There is no validated Western human dose of Selank or Semax — neither is an approved medicine in the major Western regulatory world, and the dose figures that circulate echo Russian clinical courses rather than established protocols. The distinguishing feature of both peptides is that the Russian literature administers them intranasally (nasal drops / solution), not subcutaneously: the olfactory route gives direct central-nervous-system access without first-pass metabolism. The published studies describe Selank as an add-on in an anxiety-disorder randomised study [1] and Semax examined intranasally in 187 cerebrovascular-insufficiency patients [2] — described here as what those studies administered, not a regimen to copy. Both are small, water-soluble heptapeptides (Selank ~751 Da, Semax ~813 Da, acetate salt, no disulphide bridges), so reconstitution is straightforward: bacteriostatic water down the vial wall, swirl — do not shake. A 5 mg vial in 1 mL gives 5 mg/mL; for intranasal-research use the solution is dispensed by metered volume. The multi-week “cycle” conventions online are convention, not Western dose-response evidence. Research use only — not for human consumption. See the Selank & Semax parent synopsis.

Why there is no validated human dose

Before any number appears, it is worth being clear about what kind of object a “Selank dose” or a “Semax dose” is in the West. It is not an approved dosing instruction, because neither peptide is an approved medicine in any major Western jurisdiction — there is no regulator-reviewed label, no marketed strength, and no Western dose-ranging programme that ran to registration. The figures repeated on forums and vendor pages are extrapolations: they reproduce the amounts that appeared in the Russian clinical literature and present them as though they were established protocols. They are not.

That distinction is the entire point of this article. Both peptides have been used clinically in the Russian Federation, and that clinical record is genuinely substantial — but Russian clinical use does not confer approved-medicine status in any Western jurisdiction, and the English-indexed literature is thinner than the Russian-language record it summarises. A 2013 review of neuroprotective peptides places Semax among the compounds studied in the elderly within that Russian research tradition [3]; it describes a body of work, not a validated Western dose. Read every figure that follows as “what these studies administered”, never as “what to take”.

There is no validated Western human dose of Selank or Semax. The numbers that circulate are research-reference figures — what specific studies administered — not a protocol for any person to follow.

The intranasal route — the distinguishing feature

The single most important thing to understand about Selank and Semax dosing research — and what sets this article apart from a guide to an injectable peptide — is the route of administration. The Russian clinical work studies both compounds intranasally: as nasal drops or a nasal solution, instilled into the nostril, rather than injected subcutaneously. This is not an incidental detail. It is by design, and it follows directly from the molecules’ intended targets.

Both peptides are central-nervous-system research compounds, and the olfactory pathway offers a route from the nasal mucosa toward central targets that bypasses first-pass hepatic metabolism — the metabolic gauntlet that degrades many peptides taken by other routes before they can reach the brain. The Pro-Gly-Pro stabilising tail shared by both peptides (covered in the parent synopsis) was engineered precisely to give the molecules a half-life long enough for that nasal route to produce measurable pharmacology. So the intranasal route is intrinsic to the research design, not an alternative bolted on afterwards.

Describing that route is administration-research, not a use instruction. And there is a genuine open question attached to it: the Russian clinical work almost exclusively uses intranasal administration, which means the relative pharmacokinetics of intranasal versus subcutaneous delivery — bioavailability, central-target engagement, the actual fraction reaching the brain — remains under-characterised. Anyone reading a vendor page that quietly converts an intranasal research figure into a subcutaneous “dose” is crossing a route boundary the published literature has not validated.

What the studies administered

The Selank/Semax dosing record is best read as a small set of research reports rather than a clinical guideline. Two studies in the published literature anchor the figures that everything online ultimately traces back to — and each is described here as what that paper administered or examined, not as a regimen anyone should reproduce.

The Selank anxiety add-on study. A 2015 randomised study by Medvedev and colleagues examined Selank as an add-on to standard treatment in anxiety-disorder cohorts, reporting an improved anxiolytic onset and reduced benzodiazepine side-effects in what the study administered [1]. This is what that trial gave to its participants within a single Russian research lineage — it describes the experiment, not a treatment on offer here, and it is not evidence that Selank “treats anxiety” in any approved sense.
The Semax cerebrovascular study. A 2005 study by Gusev, Skvortsova and Chukanova examined Semax administered intranasally in 187 patients with chronic cerebrovascular insufficiency, reporting on what that intranasal course examined in that cohort [2]. The 187-patient figure is the kind of detail vendor pages strip out: it is a single observational clinical study from the Russian tradition, describing what was administered intranasally, not a controlled Western trial validating a stroke-recovery dose.

The through-line is the same one that runs through the whole Selank/Semax literature: the administration figures that exist were gathered to study the molecules within a narrow research lineage and were almost always delivered intranasally. They describe experiments. They do not describe a validated Western human dose, and presenting them as one — or silently re-routing them to an injection — would misrepresent what the papers actually say. A 2013 review situates Semax within that broader neuroprotective-peptide research programme without converting any of it into a dosing recommendation [3].

Reconstitution & the concentration math

Selank and Semax are, chemically, among the easier research peptides to handle. Both are short heptapeptides — Selank (Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, molecular weight approximately 751 Da) and Semax (Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro, approximately 813 Da), supplied as the acetate salt — that are highly water-soluble and carry no disulphide bridges, so they dissolve readily and are not prone to the oxidative-folding problems that complicate larger, cysteine-containing peptides. That solubility is what makes a clean reconstitution and an honest certificate-of-analysis check meaningful.

Reconstitution mechanics, as a laboratory-handling procedure, are simple: introduce bacteriostatic water — sterile water with ~0.9% benzyl alcohol as a preservative — slowly down the inside wall of the vial rather than aiming the stream at the powder cake, then swirl gently to dissolve. Never shake: shaking shears and can denature the peptide. The general diluent and documentation framework lives in our how to reconstitute research peptides guide. The math below shows how a chosen mass maps onto a working concentration — and, importantly, the intranasal route means the solution is dispensed by metered volume rather than drawn into a hypodermic syringe.

Reconstitution & concentration math (research reference)

A vial labelled Selank 5 mg or Semax 5 mg reconstituted with 1 mL of bacteriostatic water yields a concentration of 5 mg/mL; with 2 mL it yields 2.5 mg/mL; with 5 mL it yields 1 mg/mL.
At 5 mg/mL, each 0.1 mL of solution contains 0.5 mg of peptide; at 2.5 mg/mL, each 0.1 mL contains 0.25 mg. These are mass-per-volume conversions, not a recommended amount.
Because the Russian research route is intranasal, the reconstituted solution is dispensed by metered volume — for example via a graduated dropper or a metered nasal pump that delivers a fixed volume per actuation — rather than measured in insulin-syringe units. The relevant arithmetic is mass-per-metered-volume, not mass-per-injection.
Diluent: standard bacteriostatic water. Introduce it slowly down the vial wall, not onto the powder cake, then swirl — do not shake.
Because both peptides are small (~751 Da and ~813 Da), water-soluble, and have no disulphide bridges, they dissolve readily — verify the mass per vial and the parent ion against the COA rather than assuming label accuracy.
The free reconstitution calculator handles any vial-size / diluent-volume / draw-volume combination.
These figures are research-protocol reference values for laboratory handling. They are not a human dosing recommendation — there is no validated Western human dose for either peptide, and neither is an approved medicine in any major Western jurisdiction. For research use only — not for human consumption.

Storage & handling

Storage discipline matters for both peptides. As lyophilised powders they are most stable at -20°C, protected from light; once reconstituted, the solution is generally kept refrigerated at 2-8°C and used within the window stated on the vendor’s documentation — typically around 28 days in bacteriostatic water, whose benzyl-alcohol preservative is what allows a reconstituted multi-use vial to remain usable across that window rather than being a single-use preparation.

The handling subtlety specific to these molecules is a quality-control one. Because both are short, water-soluble peptides that are comparatively easy to synthesise by solid-phase chemistry, the barrier to manufacture is low — which means quality varies widely across vendors. That makes purity verification more important, not less. A research-grade material should arrive with a third-party RP-HPLC purity assay of ≥98% peak area and mass-spectrometry confirmation of the parent ion — roughly 752 Da [M+H]⁺ for Selank and roughly 814 Da [M+H]⁺for Semax. Without that documentation, the “dose” on the label is only as trustworthy as the mass actually in the vial.

Cycles and “protocols” — convention vs evidence

The multi-week-course conventions that circulate — a run of consecutive days, a break, a repeat — are presented online as though they were established protocols. They are not derived from any published Western dose-response work. They are convention: patterns that propagate through forums and vendor pages, often loosely echoing the “course” structure of the older Russian clinical reports without any of the dose-finding rigour that would justify a specific schedule for general use.

The honest distinction is between what the literature describes and what it validates. The published record describes Selank administered as an anxiety add-on in a randomised study [1] and Semax examined intranasally across 187 cerebrovascular-insufficiency patients [2], and situates Semax within a broader neuroprotective-peptide research tradition [3]. None of that amounts to a Western dose-ranging programme that validates any particular cycle length, daily amount, or frequency. So a “cycle” is a convention to recognise when reading the literature — not a Western dose-response-derived protocol, and not a recommendation made here.

A circulating “Selank cycle” or “Semax cycle” is convention, not evidence. No Western dose-ranging trial has validated a particular amount, frequency, or course length — the published courses describe intranasal experiments in a Russian research lineage, not a protocol for people.

What a research-grade Selank / Semax label or COA should show

Active ingredient sequence stated explicitly. Selank: Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro. Semax: Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro.
Mass per vial in mg of peptide free-base, with the salt form noted (acetate is standard for both).
Third-party RP-HPLC purity assay, ≥98% peak area, with the batch number on the COA. Mass-spectrometry confirmation of the parent ion — Selank ~752 Da [M+H]⁺, Semax ~814 Da [M+H]⁺.
Storage at -20°C protected from light; reconstituted shelf-life at 2-8°C stated on the documentation (typically ~28 days in bacteriostatic water).
Explicit “for research use only — not for human consumption” statement. Russian clinical use does not constitute approved-medicine status in any Western jurisdiction, and the label carries no validated Western human dose.

For what the two peptides are and where their research record stands, start with the Selank & Semax parent synopsis. For the molecular biology, see Selank and Semax mechanism research; for how the two compounds differ, see Selank vs Semax. For general diluent and documentation handling, see how to reconstitute research peptides, and run any vial-size / concentration / volume combination through the free reconstitution calculator. Supply: Selank 5 mg research-consultation page · Semax 5 mg research-consultation page.

Frequently asked questions

How do you reconstitute Selank or Semax?: Both are small, highly water-soluble heptapeptides (Selank ~751 Da, Semax ~813 Da, acetate salt) with no disulphide bridges, so they dissolve readily. As a laboratory-handling procedure, bacteriostatic water is introduced slowly down the inside wall of the vial rather than aimed at the powder cake, then swirled gently to dissolve — never shaken, since shaking shears and can denature the peptide. A 5 mg vial reconstituted with 1 mL of bacteriostatic water yields a 5 mg/mL solution. This is reconstitution math for research handling, not a use instruction; neither peptide is an approved medicine in any major Western jurisdiction.
Are Selank and Semax taken intranasally?: The Russian clinical literature administers both peptides intranasally — as nasal drops or solution — rather than by subcutaneous injection. The olfactory pathway gives a route from the nasal mucosa toward central nervous-system targets that bypasses first-pass hepatic metabolism, which is why the route is intrinsic to the research design rather than incidental. Describing this is administration-research, not a use instruction. One open question carried through the literature is that intranasal-versus-subcutaneous pharmacokinetics — bioavailability and central-target engagement — remain under-characterised, so converting an intranasal research figure into an injectable dose crosses a route boundary the published work has not validated.
Is there a recommended Selank or Semax dose?: No. There is no validated Western human dose of either peptide, because neither is an approved medicine in any major Western jurisdiction — there is no regulator-reviewed label, marketed strength, or Western dose-ranging programme. The dose figures repeated on forums and vendor pages are extrapolations that echo Russian clinical courses, not established protocols. Both peptides have been used clinically in the Russian Federation, but that does not confer approved-medicine status in the West. Every figure in the research literature should be read as ‘what a study administered’, never as a regimen to follow. This is research education, not medical advice.
How should Selank and Semax be stored?: As lyophilised powders, both are most stable at -20°C, protected from light. Once reconstituted with bacteriostatic water, the solution is generally kept refrigerated at 2-8°C and used within the window stated on the vendor’s documentation — typically around 28 days, since the benzyl-alcohol preservative in bacteriostatic water allows a reconstituted multi-use vial to remain usable across that period. Because both are short, easily synthesised peptides, manufacturing quality varies, so purity verification matters: a research-grade material should carry a third-party RP-HPLC assay of at least 98% peak area plus mass-spectrometry confirmation of the parent ion.
How many mg are in a Selank or Semax vial?: Both are most commonly supplied as 5 mg of lyophilised peptide per vial (peptide free-base, acetate salt). The mass per vial determines the working concentration after reconstitution: a 5 mg vial in 1 mL of bacteriostatic water gives 5 mg/mL, in 2 mL gives 2.5 mg/mL, and in 5 mL gives 1 mg/mL. Because the Russian research route is intranasal, the reconstituted solution is dispensed by metered volume rather than insulin-syringe units. The label mass is only trustworthy if confirmed by a third-party COA showing RP-HPLC purity and the mass-spectrometry parent ion (Selank ~752, Semax ~814 [M+H]+).