×10 · 10-vial kitMelanotan I
Also known as Melanotan 1, MT-1 and afamelanotide. Lyophilized, vacuum-sealed, 10-vial kit.
- CAS
- 75921-69-6
- Form
- Lyophilized powder
- Storage
- Frozen, in the dark
- Ships
- Kits by Dec 12, 2026
- Presale
- Ships within the US
- Pay by card or crypto
- All sales final
Melanotan I is the linear 13-residue peptide afamelanotide, a synthetic analog of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone in which norleucine replaces methionine at position 4 and D-phenylalanine replaces L-phenylalanine at position 7. Also called MT-1 or NDP-MSH, it was reported in 1980 by Sawyer, Hruby, Hadley and colleagues. It is a melanocortin receptor agonist that binds predominantly to the melanocortin 1 receptor, and it is the active ingredient of the approved implant Scenesse.
Supplied for laboratory research use only. Not for human or veterinary use, and not for diagnostic or therapeutic application.
Melanotan I: compound data
- Molecular formula
- C78H111N21O19
- Molecular weight
- 1,646.8 g/mol
- CAS number
- 75921-69-6
- PubChem
- CID 16197727
- Form supplied
- Lyophilized powder, vacuum-sealed
- Concentration
- mg/mL and molarity calculator
Reference values from PubChem, the chemistry database of the US National Library of Medicine, for the compound as registered there.
About Melanotan I
Structure of Melanotan I
The FDA label for Scenesse gives the structure as Ac-Ser-Tyr-Ser-Nle-Glu-His-(D)Phe-Arg-Trp-Gly-Lys-Pro-Val-NH2: thirteen residues, acetylated at the amino terminus and amidated at the carboxyl terminus. It is the full-length alpha-MSH chain with two substitutions, norleucine at position 4 and the D-isomer of phenylalanine at position 7, and it is not cyclized. That separates it from Melanotan II, a seven-residue lactam-bridged ring built on the same two substitutions. In the approved product the peptide is an acetate salt carrying three to four equivalents of acetic acid, and PubChem lists the synonyms Melanotan, NDPMSH and 4-Nle-7-Phe-alpha-MSH.
Where Melanotan I comes from
The compound came out of structure-activity work on alpha-MSH. Sawyer, Sanfilippo, Hruby, Engel, Heward, Burnett and Hadley reported it in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 1980. They had found that heat-alkali treatment of alpha-MSH prolonged its activity and partly racemized positions 4 and 7, and they then synthesized the analog with norleucine at 4 and D-phenylalanine at 7. The paper described it as resistant to degradation by serum enzymes and 26 times as potent as alpha-MSH in a mouse melanoma adenylate cyclase assay. Later names include Melanotan, Melanotan I and the nonproprietary name afamelanotide.
What Melanotan I binds
The Scenesse label describes afamelanotide as a synthetic tridecapeptide and structural analog of alpha-MSH that acts as a melanocortin receptor agonist and binds predominantly to the melanocortin 1 receptor. Five melanocortin receptor subtypes are known; a 2011 review describes them as signaling mainly through intracellular cyclic AMP, with MC1R found on melanocytes and leukocytes and MC2R responding to ACTH alone. The same review treats the peptide, under the name NDP-MSH, as a nonselective agonist across the family. The 1980 paper measured adenylate cyclase activation and tyrosinase activity in mouse melanoma cells as its molecular readouts, before any of the receptors had been cloned.
Melanotan I in the research literature
The earliest work used isolated frog skin bioassays and cultured mouse melanoma cells, where adenylate cyclase and tyrosinase activity were the measured endpoints, and incubation with serum enzymes to follow degradation. Its authors proposed it in 1980 as a molecular probe for melanotropin receptors on normal and melanoma melanocytes, and receptor reviews since have used it as a reference agonist when comparing subtypes. In people, afamelanotide has been through registered human trials at Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3, and ClinicalTrials.gov lists more than twenty studies that name it as an intervention.
Regulatory status of Melanotan I
Afamelanotide is approved. FDA approved Scenesse, an afamelanotide implant from Clinuvel, in 2019, for a single labeled indication set out in the product label. The European Medicines Agency records an EU marketing authorisation issued on December 22, 2014, granted under exceptional circumstances to Clinuvel Europe Limited. Those approvals cover a finished controlled-release implant, not the loose peptide. A vial labeled Melanotan I is not Scenesse. Here the compound is supplied as a reference reagent for in-vitro laboratory research only, not for human or veterinary diagnosis, treatment, or consumption.
Handling Melanotan I in the laboratory
Melanotan I arrives lyophilized in a vacuum-sealed vial. Keep the sealed vial frozen at -4 °F and protected from light, and let it reach room temperature before breaking the seal so that moisture does not condense on the powder. Once in solution, hold it at about 39 °F and use it within roughly four weeks; divide a stock into single-use aliquots instead of freezing and thawing one tube repeatedly. The Scenesse label describes afamelanotide as a white to off-white powder that is freely soluble in water. The chain contains one tryptophan, so solutions are best kept away from light.
Sources
- Afamelanotide, PubChem CID 16197727
- 4-Norleucine, 7-D-phenylalanine-alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone: a highly potent alpha-melanotropin with ultralong biological activity (Sawyer et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1980)
- SCENESSE (afamelanotide) implant, for subcutaneous use: prescribing information (FDA, 2019)
- Scenesse: European public assessment report (EMA)
- Structure, function and regulation of the melanocortin receptors (Yang, Eur J Pharmacol, 2011)
- Studies with afamelanotide as an intervention (ClinicalTrials.gov)
Research notes on Melanotan I
- Melanotan II: Melanocortin Receptor ResearchWhat Melanotan 2 is at the molecular level: the cyclic lactam structure, its melanocortin receptor profile, US regulatory record and lab handling.
Melanotan I: common questions
Is Melanotan 1 the same as Melanotan I?
Yes. Melanotan 1 is another name for Melanotan I, which is also written MT-1 and afamelanotide (CAS 75921-69-6). It is the same compound, supplied here as a lyophilized powder for in-vitro laboratory research use only.
What is Melanotan I supplied as?
Melanotan I is supplied as a lyophilized (freeze-dried) powder in a vacuum-sealed vial, in 10 mg, for in-vitro laboratory research use only.
Is Melanotan I available as a 10-vial kit?
Yes. Melanotan I comes in a 10-vial kit: 10 mg for $157.50 ($15.75 per vial), presale prices. A kit is ten sealed vials of the same size, priced below ten single vials.
When do Melanotan I presale kits ship?
By Dec 12, 2026. Presale kits are 10% off. If we cannot ship by Dec 12, 2026, we tell you before that date and you can cancel for a full refund.
What is the CAS number of Melanotan I?
The CAS registry number of Melanotan I is 75921-69-6.
How should Melanotan I be stored?
Frozen at −4 °F and protected from light, from the day it arrives. Let the vial reach room temperature before breaking the seal; once reconstituted, stability holds for about four weeks refrigerated at 39 °F.
How fast does Melanotan I ship?
Presale kits ship from the United States by Dec 12, 2026, to US addresses. Sizes marked in stock ship within 1 business day of payment.
Is Melanotan I for human use?
No. It is supplied as a reference reagent for laboratory research use. Not for human or veterinary use, and not for diagnostic or therapeutic application.
What is the sequence of Melanotan I?
Melanotan I is Ac-Ser-Tyr-Ser-Nle-Glu-His-(D)Phe-Arg-Trp-Gly-Lys-Pro-Val-NH2, as given on the FDA label for afamelanotide. It is the 13-residue alpha-MSH chain with norleucine at position 4 and D-phenylalanine at position 7, acetylated at one end and amidated at the other.
How is Melanotan I different from Melanotan II?
Melanotan I is a linear peptide of 13 residues. Melanotan II is a seven-residue fragment analog closed into a ring by a lactam bridge between an aspartate and a lysine side chain. Both carry the norleucine and D-phenylalanine substitutions first made in the alpha-MSH series, but only afamelanotide is an approved drug substance.
Which receptor does Melanotan I bind?
The FDA label for afamelanotide describes it as a melanocortin receptor agonist that binds predominantly to the melanocortin 1 receptor. A 2011 review of the receptor family treats the same peptide, under the name NDP-MSH, as a nonselective agonist, and the receptors signal mainly through cyclic AMP.
$157.50
Melanotan I · 10 mg · 10-vial kit