The short version of reconstitution fits in a sentence. The long version — which is the one that helps — is below.
This page was last updated on 2026-03-21 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.
Material sold under this label typically arrives as a freeze-dried powder in a sealed vial with a certificate of analysis. Such certificates usually report reversed-phase chromatography purity plus a mass confirmation, and stated purities commonly sit between 95 and 99 percent. Counter-ion identity, residual trifluoroacetate, water content, and peptide net weight are separate specifications that a certificate may or may not include. A purity figure alone does not establish sequence identity, so independent mass verification remains the practical check.
The designation TB-500 circulates in laboratory and catalog contexts without a single agreed definition. Most product listings apply it to an N-terminally acetylated seven-residue fragment of thymosin beta-4, while other listings attach the same label to the full 43-residue protein. Because the term is commercial rather than systematic, two entries bearing identical names may describe different molecules. Any documentation should therefore state which sequence a given sample is claimed to contain.
Several names appear in scientific and commercial contexts for this peptide. The label TB-500 is informal and does not follow standard biochemical nomenclature. Research articles more often describe the compound as a thymosin beta-4 fragment, Tβ4 fragment, or by its sequence Ac-LKKTETQ. Confusing TB-500 with full-length thymosin beta-4 can lead to incorrect assumptions about activity because the fragment lacks the remaining residues of the parent protein. The relationship between fragment and parent protein remains an active area of study.
Regulatory status differs by country, but TB-500 is not an approved pharmaceutical in major jurisdictions. It is commonly sold as a research chemical for laboratory use, which places responsibility for identity and purity on the supplier and the laboratory. Published human data are limited, and most reports involve preclinical models or cell culture. Questions about whether the fragment mimics all actions of thymosin beta-4, and under which conditions, remain open. Independent verification of any material is therefore a practical requirement in research settings.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular mass | ≈889 Da for the 7-residue fragment | Full-length thymosin beta-4 is ≈4.9 kDa; catalogs differ |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Hygroscopic; weight shifts with residual moisture |
| Solubility class | Freely soluble in water | Also dissolves in aqueous buffers; poorly soluble in nonpolar solvents |
| Typical storage temperature | −20 °C, desiccated, protected from light | Once rehydrated, short-term holding at 2-8 °C |
| Typical analytical method | Reversed-phase HPLC with mass spectrometry | Purity by UV absorbance; identity by ESI-MS or MALDI-TOF |
No major regulatory agency has approved TB-500 for therapeutic use, and it holds no pharmacopoeial monograph. The name appears on the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list within the class covering peptide hormones, growth factors, and related substances. Detection in doping control relies on mass spectrometric methods applied to urine, often after preparation steps that concentrate the analyte. Discussion of TB-500 therefore clusters in biochemistry, sports medicine, and anti-doping literature rather than in registered clinical trials.
TB-500 is a synthetic peptide preparation marketed under a name derived from thymosin beta-4, a 43-residue actin-binding protein first isolated from thymus tissue. The full-length protein has a reported molecular mass near 4963 Da, while material sold as TB-500 is often described as a fragment containing the actin-binding motif LKKTETQ. Because suppliers use the name inconsistently, published sources sometimes refer to the same label as a fragment, a synthetic copy, or a related analog. This naming ambiguity complicates direct comparison of reports across studies.
Purity is normally assessed by reversed-phase HPLC, with the main peak reported as a percentage of total peak area, while identity is confirmed by mass spectrometry. Electrospray and MALDI-TOF instruments are both used, and the observed mass is compared with the value calculated from the stated sequence. Ion-exchange or size-exclusion methods appear where aggregation or charge variants are of interest. Water content, counter-ion content and residual trifluoroacetate from purification are separate variables that can shift the measured mass and should be weighed when reading a certificate of analysis.
Research peptides are typically supplied as a white to off-white lyophilised powder in a sealed vial. The dry solid is more stable than a solution and is normally kept refrigerated or frozen until use. Dissolution is usually done in water, phosphate-buffered saline or a similar aqueous medium, depending on the assay. Because the material is hygroscopic and easily contaminated, opening vials in a low-humidity environment and recording the lot number before use are standard laboratory practices.
Identity and purity are normally assessed with reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, paired with mass spectrometry to confirm molecular mass. A certificate of analysis reports a purity percentage, usually derived from chromatographic peak area, but that figure does not by itself prove a correct sequence or the absence of counterions. Independent verification may include amino acid analysis or peptide mapping. Batch-to-batch variation is a documented concern in the research chemical market, and the gap between a quoted purity value and actual peptide content can be substantial when the material is a salt or retains residual water.
Lyophilized peptide arrives as a dry cake that should stay sealed until use. Reconstitution is generally performed with sterile water or a buffered solution, and the resulting liquid should be handled gently to limit mechanical stress. Repeated freeze-thaw cycles are widely described as harmful to short peptides, so dividing a reconstituted batch into single-use portions is a common practice. Laboratories also record the solvent, concentration, and date of preparation on the vial label to keep later measurements traceable.
Dry powder is commonly held at minus twenty degrees Celsius, with some suppliers recommending lower temperatures for long-term archival storage. Once dissolved, solutions are typically kept cold and protected from light, since aqueous peptide solutions can lose integrity through hydrolysis or oxidation over time. Stability data specific to this fragment are limited in the public literature, and much of the guidance comes from general peptide handling practice rather than from controlled degradation studies. Users therefore treat stated shelf lives as approximate rather than fixed.
Detection in biological samples relies on mass spectrometry, typically liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry after peptide extraction and enrichment. Intact peptides can also be confirmed by high-resolution mass measurement together with fragmentation data. Detection windows in urine are short because the peptide is degraded by proteases and cleared quickly, and concentrations are low. Many jurisdictions treat the compound as a prohibited substance in sport, grouped with peptide hormones and related factors, while it is not an approved therapeutic product. Identity and purity statements therefore rest on certificates of analysis, ideally issued by an independent laboratory.
Material is normally supplied as a lyophilised powder in a sealed vial. The powder is hygroscopic, so exposure to humid air leads to water uptake, caking and gradual loss of the fluffy texture that indicates a good freeze-dry. Vials are best kept sealed with desiccant, protected from light and stored cold. Letting a cold vial warm to room temperature before opening reduces condensation on the contents. Purity is normally reported from a chromatographic run, and that figure applies to the batch as tested rather than to the vial after repeated opening.
Once dissolved, the peptide is far less stable than the dry powder. Aqueous solutions are subject to hydrolysis, oxidation at susceptible residues and gradual loss of material through adsorption onto glass and plastic surfaces. Terminal glutamine can cyclise under some conditions, producing a related species that complicates purity assessment. Dilute solutions tend to lose a larger fraction of material to surfaces than concentrated ones. Buffers, pH and ionic strength all influence the rate of change, so stability figures are only meaningful when those parameters are stated alongside the storage interval.
AAA proteins are not restricted to eukaryotes. Prokaryotes have AAA which combine chaperone with proteolytic activity, for example in ClpAPS complex, which mediates protein degradation and recognition in E. coli. The basic recognition of proteins by AAAs is thought to occur through unfolded protein domains in the substrate protein. In HslU, a bacterial ClpX/ClpY homologue of the HSP100 family of AAA proteins, the N- and C-terminal subdomains move towards each other when nucleotides are bound and hydrolysed. The terminal domains are most distant in the nucleotide-free state and closest in the ADP-bound state. Thereby the opening of the central cavity is affected. AAA proteins are involved in protein degradation, membrane fusion, DNA replication, microtubule dynamics, intracellular transport, transcriptional activation, protein refolding, disassembly of protein complexes and protein aggregates.
Several case studies studying deletions in the 7p22.3 genomic region, where the SNX8 gene is located, found that it contributes to neurodevelopmental problems with considerable impairments in the motor, cognitive and socio-emotional areas, with malformations in the heart and craniofacial structures, with developmental, intellectual and language delay, with mild intellectual disability and with cognitive impairment associated with autism in some cases. This idea is supported by the fact that the overlapping deleted regions of the different patients of these studies contained SNX8, which suggests that it is one of the accountable genes.
== Radioactivity over time == Fission products have half-lives of 90 years (samarium-151) or less, except for seven long-lived fission products that have half-lives of 211,100 years (technetium-99) or more. Therefore, the total radioactivity of a mixture of pure fission products decreases rapidly for the first several hundred years (controlled by the short-lived products) before stabilizing at a low level that changes little for hundreds of thousands of years (controlled by the seven long-lived products). This behavior of pure fission products with actinides removed, contrasts with the decay of fuel that still contains actinides. This fuel is produced in the so-called "open" (i.e., no nuclear reprocessing) nuclear fuel cycle. A number of these actinides have half-lives in the missing range of about 100 to 200,000 years, causing some difficulty with storage plans in this time-range for open-cycle non-reprocessed fuels. Proponents of nuclear fuel cycles which aim to consume all their actinides by fission, such as the Integral Fast Reactor and molten salt reactor, use this fact to claim that within 200 years, their fuel wastes are no more radioactive than the original uranium ore. Fission products primarily emit beta radiation, while actinides primarily emit alpha radiation. Many of each also emit gamma radiation.
== History == It was created by Zealand Pharma A/S of Denmark; in 2003 Zealand licensed it to Sanofi which developed the drug. Lixisenatide was approved by the European Commission in February 2013. Sanofi submitted an NDA in the US, which was accepted for review by the US FDA in February 2013, but after discussions with the FDA about the cardiovascular safety data included in the package (starting in 2008, the FDA had required stronger CV safety data for new anti-diabetes drugs, following the controversy around the risks of Avandia) Sanofi decided to withdraw the NDA and wait for the results of a Phase III study that was scheduled to be completed in 2015. Because the drug was the first GLP-1 agonist that could be taken once a day, sales projections in 2013 were €500M per year by 2018. Sanofi resubmitted the application which the FDA accepted in September 2015, by which time Sanofi had lost the lead in the field of anti-diabetic drugs to Novo Nordisk. Lixisenatide received FDA approval in July 2016. In 2010, Zealand and Sanofi extended their license agreement to allow Sanofi to develop a combination therapy of lixisenatide with insulin glargine, which was Sanofi's best selling drug at the time, with sales of around €3 billion in 2009. Sanofi planned to start the Phase III trial that year. Sanofi submitted the NDA in December 2015, for the combination, called LixiLan and it was considered by the same Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory FDA Committee that was considering lixisenatide as a single agent.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Alternative medicine === Some alternative practitioners believe EDTA acts as an antioxidant, preventing free radicals from injuring blood vessel walls, therefore reducing atherosclerosis. These ideas are unsupported by scientific studies, and seem to contradict some currently accepted principles. The U.S. FDA has not approved it for the treatment of atherosclerosis.
=== Evolution === For at least 1.2 billion years, eukaryotes—a classification of life forms that includes single-cell species, fungi, plants, and animals, but not bacteria, characterized by cells with a membrane-bound nucleus—have been able to synthesize 7-dehydrocholesterol. When this molecule is exposed to UVB light from the sun it absorbs the energy in the process of being converted to vitamin D. The function was to prevent DNA damage, the converted molecule being an end product without vitamin function. Present day, phytoplankton in the ocean photosynthesize vitamin D without any calcium management function, as do some species of algae, lichen, fungi, and plants. Only circa 500 million years ago, when animals began to leave the oceans for land, did the UV-converted molecule take on a hormone function as a promoter of calcium regulation. This function required the development of a nuclear vitamin D receptor (VDR) that binds the biologically active vitamin D metabolite 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin (D3), plasma transport proteins, and vitamin D metabolizing CYP450 enzymes regulated by calciotropic hormones. The triumvirate of receptor protein, transport and metabolizing enzymes are found only in vertebrates. The initial vitamin function evolved for control of metabolic genes supporting innate and adaptive immunity. Only later did the VDR system start to act as an important regulator of calcium supply for a calcified skeleton in land-based vertebrates.
==== Central America ==== The countries of Central America – Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama – are major transit and storage points for drugs headed to Mexico and the US that annually appear on the American "majors list". The US has had varying levels of direct anti-drug involvement in each of these countries, particularly since the late 2000s when concern over trafficking activity increased. Beginning in 2008, the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) has provided the seven countries with equipment, training, and technical support for law enforcement efforts, and the US has advised taking an intelligence-based approach. During the 1980s civil war in Nicaragua, the drug situation was intertwined with the US backing of the anti-leftist rebel force known as the Contras. Senator John Kerry's 1988 Senate Committee on Foreign Relations report on Contra drug links concluded that members of the State Department "who provided support for the Contras are involved in drug trafficking ... and elements of the Contras themselves knowingly receive financial and material assistance from drug traffickers." The involvement included payments to drug traffickers from funds authorized by the Congress for humanitarian assistance to the Contras, in some cases after the traffickers had been indicted by federal law enforcement agencies on drug charges, in others while traffickers were under active investigation by these same agencies."
=== Alzheimer's disease === In November 2025, Novo Nordisk announced top-line results from two large-scale studies, evoke and evoke+. The studies reported failure to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease versus placebo.
=== Others === Unlike varenicline (brand name Chantix), naltrexone is not useful for smoking cessation. Naltrexone has also been under investigation for reducing behavioral addictions such as gambling, non-suicidal self-injury disorder, and kleptomania, as well as compulsive sexual behaviors in both offenders and non-offenders (e.g., compulsive porn viewing and masturbation). The results were promising. In one study, the majority of sexual offenders reported a strong reduction in sexual urges and fantasies, which reverted to baseline once the medication was discontinued. Case reports have also shown cessation of gambling and other compulsive behaviors, for as long as the medication was taken. When taken at much smaller doses, a regimen known as low-dose naltrexone (LDN), naltrexone may reduce pain and help to address symptoms of conditions other than those related to addiction. Reports have been published on the usefulness of LDN in the settings of ME/CFS, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and autoimmune diseases. Although its mechanism of action is unclear, some have speculated that it may act as an anti-inflammatory. As of October 2022, LDN was also being considered as a potential treatment for long COVID.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Usually not, though usage overlaps. The label most often refers to a short acetylated fragment of the parent protein, while thymosin beta-4 itself is the full 43-residue molecule. Because suppliers vary, a sequence statement is needed to settle the question for any particular lot.
The name is a commercial label rather than a systematic chemical designation, so different vendors and papers attach it to different sequences. Some treat it as a fragment and others as the whole protein. Comparing two reports therefore requires checking what each one actually analyzed.
Typically it reflects the relative area of the main peak in a reversed-phase chromatogram at a given wavelength. It does not confirm the amino acid sequence, the counter-ion, or the amount of peptide by mass. Identity is normally established by a separate mass measurement.
TB-500 is a synthetic heptapeptide corresponding to a fragment of thymosin beta-4. It is used in laboratory research and is not an approved drug.