Peptide Names Decoded: Where BPC-157, TB-500, GHRP-6 and -relin Come From
Peptide names decoded: why it's called BPC-157, what INN stems like -relin and -glutide mean, how code names arise, and why a name never proves identity.
Archive
Category: Peptide Basics
Plain-English explainers on what peptides are, how they are built and named, and how peptide hormones and receptors work. Background reading for laboratory research; not medical advice.
Peptide Sequence Notation and End Caps: Reading Ac-, -NH2, cyclo and Salt Forms
Peptide sequence notation decoded: H-/-OH and Ac-/-NH2 termini, cyclo and disulfide bridges, non-standard residues and salt forms, plus what end caps do.
Peptides vs Small Molecules: What Actually Differs in the Lab
Peptides vs small molecules: size, synthesis, stability, analysis and how each reaches its target, and why a peptide catalogue also lists non-peptides.
Bioregulator Peptides Explained: The Khavinson Short Peptides
Bioregulator peptides explained: the Khavinson short peptides, the sequences behind names like Cortagen and Livagen, how they've been studied, and what the evidence doesn't show.
Research Peptide Glossary: 46 Terms Every Lab Should Know
Plain-English definitions of 46 research-peptide terms, from HPLC, mass spectrometry and COAs to counter-ions, net peptide content, molarity, RUO and DIN, grouped by topic.
Cyclic AMP and Protein Kinase A Explained
How a peptide signal outside a cell becomes a response inside it: adenylyl cyclase, cyclic AMP, protein kinase A and CREB, why GHRH analogues and growth hormone secretagogues use different routes, and what the cascade diagram leaves out.
Dipeptides, Tripeptides and Oligopeptides: Short Peptides Explained
What dipeptides, tripeptides and oligopeptides are, how short peptides are named and counted, and examples from glutathione and GHK-Cu to KPV, TRH and aspartame.
Cell-Penetrating Peptides: How Peptides Get Inside Cells
What cell-penetrating peptides are, how the Tat and penetratin discoveries happened, why the 2003 fixation artefact reset the field, why endosomal escape is still the bottleneck, and where CPPs stand today.
D-Amino Acids Explained: Mirror-Image Building Blocks in Peptides
D-amino acids explained: what chirality means, where mirror-image amino acids occur in nature, and why designers build them into peptides.
Amino Acid Codes: The One-Letter and Three-Letter Chart
Amino acid codes explained: one-letter and three-letter abbreviations for all 20 amino acids, how to read a peptide sequence, and the essential nine.