Cortagen Pen
3 mL of the tetrapeptide Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro (AEDP) in bacteriostatic water, 20 mg per pen. Filled from a peptide lot tested in the manufacturer’s own laboratory, with a certificate.
| Compound | Cortagen Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro (AEDP); Khavinson cerebral-cortex peptide bioregulator |
|---|---|
| CAS number | Not assigned |
| Molecular formula | C17H26N4O9 |
| Theoretical mass | 430.4 Da |
| Sequence / structure | H-AEDP-OH (4 residues; free N- and C-termini) |
| Contents | Cortagen: 20 mg per 3 mL pen (0.67% w/v) |
| Form | Sterile aqueous solution in bacteriostatic water (0.9% benzyl alcohol), supplied in a 3 mL glass cartridge inside a preloaded autoinjector pen fitted with a needle |
| Storage, sealed | Store at 2–8 °C in the original carton, protected from light |
| Format | Solution in a 3 mL pre-filled pen |
Sizes and lots
- 20 mg · 1 pen — $68.99
- 20 mg · Kit of 10 — $613.32
Cortagen, the tetrapeptide Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro, is a synthetic cerebral-cortex bioregulator from the Khavinson programme in St Petersburg. This listing is a preloaded pen holding 20 mg of it dissolved in 3 mL of solution, about 6.7 mg/mL, so there is no powder to dissolve. Published work on cortagen is thin: short Russian reports on nerve regeneration and on oxidative stress markers in rats.
What is in the pen
Each pen contains a 3 mL glass cartridge of sterile aqueous solution. The safety data sheet lists cortagen at 0.67% w/v, 20 mg per pen, in bacteriostatic water with 0.9% benzyl alcohol as an antimicrobial preservative. At the certificate mass of 430.4 Da, that is roughly 15.5 mM. The peptide is not classified as hazardous; benzyl alcohol is listed as harmful if swallowed or inhaled, a serious eye irritant and a possible skin sensitiser.
Keep the pen at 2 to 8 °C in its carton, away from light, and capped once in use. Do not freeze it, and discard it if the solution has frozen, changed colour or turned cloudy. In water the Asp-Pro bond is the part of the molecule most open to cleavage, which in hot dilute acid ran 8 to 20 times faster than at other aspartyl bonds1; its rate in the pen's solution has not been measured. The freeze-dried Cortagen 20 mg vial holds the same peptide, and peptide pen vs vial covers the general trade-offs.
What the research covers
Cortagen is one of the short synthetic peptides of the Khavinson programme, and its literature is brief. Two short reports from 2000 and 2002 looked at peripheral nerve, one at regeneration of the sciatic nerve and one at a delayed effect on the recovery of injured nerve function2,3. Their abstracts are not available here, so the animal models and the size of any effect cannot be given. The 2002 report appeared in Doklady Biological Sciences, the English edition of a Russian academy journal3.
The one abstract on cortagen's biology comes from a rat study by Kozina. Epithalon and cortagen lowered lipid peroxidation products and reduced oxidative modification of proteins, while antioxidant activity in serum and cerebral cortex fell at the same time4. The abstract is a single sentence and gives no group sizes or effect sizes.
Most of the primary record on cortagen looks like this: short reports in Russian journals or their English translations, largely from the developers' circle. No study used a ready-made solution, and none measured the stability of AEDP in water. The Cortagen 20 mg vial page has the full research summary, including the chromatin paper and what is borrowed from sibling peptides.
Frequently asked questions
How does the pen differ from the Cortagen vial?
Both hold 20 mg of the same tetrapeptide. In the vial it is freeze-dried powder stored at −20 °C; in the pen it is already dissolved in 3 mL of bacteriostatic water and stored at 2 to 8 °C. The vial keeps the Asp-Pro bond dry until it is needed; the pen gives a fixed, ready concentration.
Do the published cortagen studies apply to the pen?
Only as background on the peptide. The papers describe nerve and oxidative stress work in animals, and none used a preloaded solution or measured how long the peptide stays intact in water. For the pen, the storage limits on the safety data sheet are the ones to follow.
References
- Marcus F. Preferential cleavage at aspartyl-prolyl peptide bonds in dilute acid. Int J Pept Protein Res. 1985;25(5):542-6. DOI · PubMed
- Turchaninova LN, Kolosova LI, Malinin VV, et al. Effect of tetrapeptide cortagen on regeneration of sciatic nerve. Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine. 2000;130(6):1172-1174. DOI
- Kolosova LI, Moiseeva AB, Turchaninova LN, et al. The delayed effect of cortagen on the restoration of injured nerve function. Dokl Biol Sci. 2002;384:183-4. DOI · PubMed
- Kozina LS. Effects of bioactive tetrapeptides on free-radical processes. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2007;143(6):744-6. DOI · PubMed
For laboratory research use only. Not for human or veterinary consumption. Products have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.