tendency
Explorer
Based on what I've read, the nasal spray route seems to be the favored way to take Adamax. SubQ is another option, though it's seen as less ideal. I'm curious how this matches up with actual experiences people have had.
How is everyone using adamax?
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Jack brown
Explorer
My understanding is that with SubQ, crossing the blood brain barrier may not happen, but the nasal spray is able to reach your brain through the olfactory nerve. That's why I lean toward IN, even if it could simply be placebo.
Because of the Adamantine chain, Adamax can get through the BBB whether taken SQ or IN. Pep-pedia's guidance is SQ, and it doesn't list an IN protocol at all, even though I'm aware a few RSs go that route. I've got some on hand and my plan is to start researching SQ. Should it turn out to be the rocket fuel people describe, I'll probably keep doing that and skip IN entirely.
tendency
Explorer
Nice — can't wait to give it a go once it shows up at the end of this week. Fingers crossed it helps lift my catecholamine/dopamine systems, which I'm hoping will support me with depression and ADD. Appreciate the details.
CNCCurrency
Explorer
Strange that they suggest nasal for semax, isn't it?
sheilarae74
Explorer
Let us know how it goes. I'm considering giving Adamax a try too.
lessthanhalf
Explorer
I have doubts that peptides can reach the brain effectively through the olfactory nerve. Almost all of the studies use rodents, where the path is only about a centimeter or two. In people, that span is 10 times longer, which is an extremely long route for any molecule to travel by passive diffusion along a relatively thin nerve pathway to reach the brain. On top of that, measuring drug concentrations in the human brain is somewhat harder, since people do not usually sign up to have needles inserted into their brains for drug-level testing. A portion of intranasal medication will enter the bloodstream through the nasal passages, which receive a lot of blood flow, and presumably anything that is swallowed will be broken down by gastric enzymes.
Compared with semax, which it is derived from, adamax has been chemically altered on purpose to boost BBB penetration and extend half life. Sadly, there is essentially no scientific research on adamax.
Compared with semax, which it is derived from, adamax has been chemically altered on purpose to boost BBB penetration and extend half life. Sadly, there is essentially no scientific research on adamax.
Adamax's origin story differs quite a bit from Semax's, and that may explain why studies on it are so scarce compared to Semax.
Here's what Gemini had to say:
Adamax came into existence in 2016–2017, created by the R&D group at Ceretropic — a nootropics-focused company that at the time was headed by Paul Ruairi (better known in the community under his handle, MisterYouAreSoDumb).
Semax, by contrast, traces back to the Institute of Molecular Genetics at the Russian Academy of Sciences during the 1980s. Adamax, on the other hand, belongs to the private-sector "designer peptide" wave.
### The Synthesis Context
Ceretropic's team set out to address two particular shortcomings of the Russian-designed
NA-Semax Amidate:
1. Metabolic Stability: Their aim was a peptide capable of withstanding enzymatic breakdown in the bloodstream for a longer stretch of time.
2. Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) Penetration: They looked for a way to boost the peptide's lipophilic (fat-soluble) character so it could cross into the brain more efficiently.
### The "Adamantane" Innovation
The name "Adamax" reflects the attachment of an Adamantane group onto the N-Acetyl Semax base. Adamantane is a distinctive carbon structure (a "diamondoid") that gained fame through its use in developing the Alzheimer's drug
Memantine.
By linking this bulky, lipophilic group to the peptide, the Ceretropic team produced a Semax variant that:
* Crossed the BBB with markedly greater efficiency.
* Possessed a substantially longer half-life (which explains why it comes across as more "potent" or "intense" than earlier versions).
### Key Players & Origin
* Company: Ceretropic (Arizona, USA).
* Timeline: Early discussions about development started in late 2015 on forums such as Reddit’s r/nootropics, and the first stable batches were synthesized and brought to the research market in 2016.
* Status: Having been developed outside the conventional pharmaceutical pipeline, it occupies a gray area—it enjoys strong popularity in the performance-enhancement community but does not have the formal peer-reviewed clinical record that the original Russian Semax has.
Note: With Ceretropic having shut down several years back, the "Adamax" sold on the market today is usually manufactured by independent peptide synthesis labs (largely in China or the US) following the original chemical blueprint laid out by the Ceretropic team.
I take it you're referring to that 2-part piece written by some lady and her AI ghostwriter.
The problem with Adamax
The Adamax Problem; Part 2
It's a worthwhile read on testing standards.
Edit: Haha, seems somebody isn't happy that her name got shared here.
The problem with Adamax
The Adamax Problem; Part 2
It's a worthwhile read on testing standards.
Edit: Haha, seems somebody isn't happy that her name got shared here.
AlexSilver
Explorer
How does NA Semax with the Amidate chain rank there?
When ranked by potency, the order goes Adamax, then NA Semax, then Semax. In practice, NA Semax is almost always encountered with the Amidate chain attached. An NA Semax lacking that chain could theoretically exist, but there would be no reason to make it, and I have yet to come across such a version. That said, it might still be available somewhere, which is why checking carefully matters. What would settle the question is the Dalton weight of each compound, since that tells you what is actually in your hands.
Dalton weights:
Semax (813.9\ Da)
N-Acetyl Semax (854.98\ Da) (no Adimate)
N-Acetyl Semax Amidate (855.96 Da)
Adamax 1032.2 Da (in the proper formulation)
tendency
Explorer
If the Adamax I had was actually genuine, I saw no strong reason to pick it instead of NA-Semax. The two felt about the same, and NA-Semax costs a lot less. I took NA-Semax intranasally, and for me that route beats SubQ by a wide margin.
Neurogroot
Explorer
My experience lines up with what @tendency described. To me it “feels” a bit more energizing and gives a greater focus boost compared to NA Semax and Amidate. That said, the pricing is the real issue: for what 3 Adamax singles cost, I can get a whole kit of NA Semax.
Should the price drop at some point—even just to 2x—I’ll be Team Adamax. But as things stand, NA all the way!