Also known as MT-2 · MT-II
Synthetic cyclic analog of α-MSH; non-selective melanocortin receptor agonist.
Melanotan II is a cyclic heptapeptide α-MSH analog developed at the University of Arizona. Acts as a non-selective agonist across MC1R, MC3R, MC4R, and MC5R — pigmentation and sexual-response effects have both been documented.
Melanotan II is a synthetic cyclic analog of α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH), developed at the University of Arizona. It is a non-selective agonist across the melanocortin receptors MC1R through MC5R.
Through MC1R it stimulates melanin production (pigmentation); through MC4R it influences central sexual-response pathways. Both effects are documented in research, but its non-selectivity also drives side effects, and it is not FDA-approved.
Non-selective melanocortin receptor (MC1-5R) agonism.
Behind every vial of Melanotan II is the same exacting pipeline every research peptide runs — but the chemistry plays out differently for this molecule. Here is how Melanotan II, specifically, is brought into being.
On paper, Melanotan II is C50H69N15O9 — about 1,024.2 daltons of precisely arranged atoms. Before a single bond is made, the target sequence, salt form, and purity threshold are written down as the contract the finished material must meet.
Melanotan II is assembled by solid-phase peptide synthesis — the chain grows one protected residue at a time on resin, and what you fail to build cleanly here you pay to remove later. It also carries cyclization, an extra step beyond a plain chain that adds both capability and cost.
The crude mixture — Melanotan II plus its deletions and side products — is then separated on preparative HPLC, and where the cut is taken decides the difference between a genuinely pure peptide and a barely-passable one.
A real batch of Melanotan II proves itself: identity confirmed by mass spectrometry against its ~1,024.2 Da, purity read directly off an analytical HPLC trace, water and counterion content measured. That batch-specific certificate of analysis is the only honest way to know what is actually in a vial of Melanotan II — and a short, cold, accountable chain of custody is how that purity survives the trip to your bench.
Producing Melanotan II to a genuine purity spec means solid-phase synthesis, preparative HPLC purification, and batch quality control — none of it cheap, and none of it something you can verify by eye.
Don't judge a vial by its cake. A fluffy, good-looking lyophilized powder reflects bulking agents and freeze-drying parameters — not purity. Insist on a batch-specific certificate of analysis.
Melanotan II is a synthetic, non-selective melanocortin-receptor agonist (an α-MSH analog) studied for pigmentation and sexual-response effects.
PT-141 (bremelanotide) is a melanocortin agonist with preferential MC4R activity studied for sexual function; Melanotan II is non-selective and also drives pigmentation.
No — Melanotan II is not FDA-approved. This page is a research and educational reference, not a usage recommendation.
It activates melanocortin receptors MC1R through MC5R without selectivity.