Melanotan I: Research Overview and Mechanism
Melanotan I (afamelanotide) is a linear 13-residue analog of alpha-MSH studied in laboratory research as a potent melanocortin agonist whose MC1R activity is examined within melanogenesis and receptor-pharmacology models. Its linear backbone distinguishes it from the cyclic Melanotan II. As a molecule, afamelanotide is an approved drug marketed as Scenesse, stated here as regulatory context only. It is supplied as a lyophilized powder for research use only and is not approved for human use.
What Melanotan I is
Melanotan I (afamelanotide) is a linear, 13-residue synthetic analog of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), with a molecular weight near 1646.9 g/mol. Unlike the compact cyclic Melanotan II, it retains the full-length linear backbone of the native alpha-MSH sequence.
This linear-versus-cyclic distinction is the primary structural point studied across the melanocortin-analog family, and the full-length linear backbone is what sets the potent alpha-MSH analog Melanotan I apart from Melanotan II and PT-141 in receptor-pharmacology research.
Pathways it is studied within
In research, Melanotan I is studied as a potent alpha-MSH analog acting through melanocortin receptors. Its MC1R agonism on melanocytes stimulates eumelanin synthesis, and that melanogenesis pathway is the mechanism examined in cellular and preclinical photoprotection models using the linear analog.
As a molecule, afamelanotide has a public regulatory record: it is approved under the brand name Scenesse for erythropoietic protoporphyria, a rare inherited light-sensitivity disorder, and it has been investigated in published human clinical trials for photoprotection, with pain-free light exposure reported among the studied endpoints. Both facts are given here purely as regulatory and literature context, in the third person, and neither is a human-use claim for the research material on this page, which is supplied for laboratory use only and is not approved for human use.
Handling and documentation
Pinnacle Melanotan I ships as a 10mg lyophilized powder. At 13 residues it is the largest of the melanocortin analogs offered here and it carries photosensitive tryptophan and tyrosine residues, so the sealed vial is stored at -20C shielded from light before reconstitution.
Reconstitute with bacteriostatic water added gently against the inner wall, then refrigerate and minimize freeze-thaw cycles, since a longer linear chain has more labile bonds than a compact cyclic peptide. Every batch is doctoral chemist tested by HPLC and mass spectrometry and ships with a lot-matched Certificate of Analysis confirming identity and purity of 99% or higher.
All products are intended strictly for in-vitro laboratory research and development use only. Not for human or veterinary use, not a drug, food, or cosmetic, and not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.