Preclinical Selank/Semax notes: SubQ vs intranasal, solo versus co-administered

gurbert

gurbert

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I'm putting together lab-rat (preclinical) findings on Semax and Selank, and would welcome thoughts from experienced testers or researchers.

What I want to compare:

  1. Route: intranasal against SubQ
  2. Whether to stack: Semax on its own, Selank on its own, or given together
  3. Readouts: behavior, cognition, anxiety-like responses, plus any obvious differences in CNS signaling
  4. Handling details: dose range, how often, timing, washout, and if the route altered how consistent effects were
  5. Tolerability and signals: irritation where administered, stress response, habituation/tachyphylaxis, and similar
If you have run rat work or seen it done, useful details would include:

  • Strain/sex/age (helpful but optional if your rat is shy)
  • Dosing protocol (mcg, schedule, duration)
  • Route and formulation
  • For combos: simultaneous or staggered
I'm not after medical advice, just trying to collect methodologically useful preclinical experience and swap notes between labs.

Where my log stands: my rat is on day 3 of SubQ Selank, beginning at ~10 units drawn from a 3 mL / 10 mg (~330mcg) vial, and I intend to titrate up to roughly 500 mcg before the 10 mg runs out (depending on how it goes I may continue climbing if I stick with SubQ). After that I'll move to intranasal and compare the routes. I'll post updates as I go. Not sure my rat will test Semax, though.

Thanks ahead of time to anyone who shares protocols, pitfalls, or negative results as well.

My current Theory

Route-to-Phenotype Hypothesis (Selank)

Intranasal and SubQ may not be interchangeable; they may produce different anxiolytic phenotypes.

  • Panic / acute surges: likely favor intranasal due to faster CNS-onset effects (strongest in the ~30-180 min window).
  • Baseline generalized anxiety / chronic nervousness / work-stress reactivity: may favor SubQ because steadier exposure could reduce symptom fluctuation over days to weeks.
  • Performance anxiety: depends on timing goals: intranasal for immediate pre-stressor effect, SubQ for all-day baseline smoothing.
SubQ Research Positioning

SubQ should be studied as a distinct therapeutic profile, not a replacement route:

  • slower onset,
  • potentially steadier background anxiolysis,
  • possibly better for baseline stress tone than rapid interruption of acute spikes.

Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Here's some interesting rat data, however the studies are intraperitoneal (IP) Semax/Selank (NOT subQ) and intranasal.

Semax

Semax (rats): IP vs Intranasal

  • Intranasal: Best evidence for direct CNS-linked effects (neurotrophic/signaling and behavioral readouts).
  • IP: Strong systemic neuroprotection/anti-inflammatory effects in injury models; still reaches brain effects, but via systemic exposure.
  • Practical difference: Intranasal is usually chosen for brain-targeted peptide delivery logic; IP is easier for controlled systemic dosing in lab protocols.
Selank (rats): IP vs Intranasal

  • Intranasal: Clear anxiolytic/stress-modulating behavioral evidence.
  • IP: Also shows anti-stress/withdrawal-related effects, but route is systemic and not directly equivalent to nose-to-brain assumptions.
  • Practical difference: Intranasal is more aligned with CNS-focused peptide use; IP is common for reproducible systemic administration.
Bottom line

  • For both Semax and Selank, rat literature supports activity by both routes.
  • The main gap is few true head-to-head IP vs intranasal comparisons in the same study, so cross-paper comparisons are directional, not definitive.

Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Russian studies:

As of February 17, 2026, the human dosing reported in Russian clinical use/trials is roughly:


Click to expand...
Click to expand...
References:

Semax

  1. Intranasal
  2. Intraperitoneal (IP) / systemic injection models
Selank

  1. Intranasal
  2. Intraperitoneal (IP) / systemic injection models

Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
50+/male research subject. Have been using intranasal Semax and Selank (each on its own) for roughly 2 months.

Began in the first week of December with NA-Semax and NA-Selank.

Week 1: 250mcg sprays of each (NA-Semax, NA-Selank) every morning to check tolerance/side-effects. Saw none. Only very slight benefits (calmness and a bit sharper focus - though this could have been placebo early on).

Week 2-4: Raised the dose to 500mcg sprays of each, still daily in the AM. No clear benefits, no side-effects.

Week 5 - 8: Used up the NA-Semax and NA-Selank. Mixed regular Semax and Selank instead to compare. Upped the Semax dose (400mg - two times per day, totaling 800mcg daily) and held Selank near 400-500 mcg daily, moved the timing so Semax was in the AM and Selanck in the PM. Slight benefits seen, but neither consistent nor notably effective.

The subject is now pausing for a few weeks to reset and re-evaulate.

Overall: Cannot report any meaningful effect or improvements. Will likely keep administering until the current vials run out; but unsure whether this will become a long-term thing given the questionable results, at least from intranasal so far. Not looking at SubQ delivery because the original research and source said intranasal is the route to use.
 
Appreciate the details ...Selank and Semax are on my research radar, so I've been looking for researchers who use it, along with anecdotal reports.
 
Fascinating. The range of reactions is really wide. For my rat, Semax could be the peptide he likes best up to now. That morning lift ahead of the workday feels energizing. Selank comes across as gentler, yet it still delivers the effect he's after. It's possible the 20-day Epitalon course he ran before beginning set him up to get the complete benefits. He's letting his sinuses recover for a month, after which he'll begin an NA Semax cycle to make a comparison. He's considering SQ for the first two weeks, followed by IN for another 2 weeks, as a way to compare.
 
Chili777 said:

Fascinating. The range of reactions is really wide. For my rat, Semax could be the peptide he likes best up to now. That morning lift ahead of the workday feels energizing. Selank comes across as gentler, yet it still delivers the effect he's after. It's possible the 20-day Epitalon course he ran before beginning set him up to get the complete benefits. He's letting his sinuses recover for a month, after which he'll begin an NA Semax cycle to make a comparison. He's considering SQ for the first two weeks, followed by IN for another 2 weeks, as a way to compare.
Click to expand...
That's helpful, though it's a letdown for my rat. I'm still chasing something to sharpen focus and cognition. How much Semax do you give your subject? Epitalon keeps appearing on my radar, so I should dig into it.
 
Gorby2025 said:

Chili777 said:

Fascinating. The range of reactions is really wide. For my rat, Semax could be the peptide he likes best up to now. That morning lift ahead of the workday feels energizing. Selank comes across as gentler, yet it still delivers the effect he's after. It's possible the 20-day Epitalon course he ran before beginning set him up to get the complete benefits. He's letting his sinuses recover for a month, after which he'll begin an NA Semax cycle to make a comparison. He's considering SQ for the first two weeks, followed by IN for another 2 weeks, as a way to compare.
Click to expand...
That's helpful, though it's a letdown for my rat. I'm still chasing something to sharpen focus and cognition. How much Semax do you give your subject? Epitalon keeps appearing on my radar, so I should dig into it.
Click to expand...
I also put together an Epitalon spray. Each spray delivers 500 mcg, and I took 1 mg per day across 20 days. It wiped out my COVID brain fog, plus my eyesight got sharper and colors looked more vivid. I'm 67, and I've also dealt with a couple TBIs from car accidents. My sense is that it helped, and 2 months on, the fog is still lighter. I plan to keep cycling it every 3-4 months — though 10 days each month is another recognized protocol, the longer stretch seemed to do more for me.

Semax I prepared the same way. 500 mcg per spray, totaling 1 mg daily, though on a couple of days I took 4 sprays and ended up with a headache. I've also got some NA Semax Amidate lined up for the next cycle, and I'll reconstitute that at 350 mcg per spray. I'd like to compare IN against SQ, but from what I've read, IN offers the best bioavailability.
 
gurbert said:

I'm putting together lab-rat (preclinical) findings on Semax and Selank, and would welcome thoughts from experienced testers or researchers.

What I want to compare:

  1. Route: intranasal against SubQ
  2. Whether to stack: Semax on its own, Selank on its own, or given together
  3. Readouts: behavior, cognition, anxiety-like responses, plus any obvious differences in CNS signaling
  4. Handling details: dose range, how often, timing, washout, and if the route altered how consistent effects were
  5. Tolerability and signals: irritation where administered, stress response, habituation/tachyphylaxis, and similar
If you have run rat work or seen it done, useful details would include:

  • Strain/sex/age (helpful but optional if your rat is shy)
  • Dosing protocol (mcg, schedule, duration)
  • Route and formulation
  • For combos: simultaneous or staggered
I'm not after medical advice, just trying to collect methodologically useful preclinical experience and swap notes between labs.

Where my log stands: my rat is on day 3 of SubQ Selank, beginning at ~10 units drawn from a 3 mL / 10 mg (~330mcg) vial, and I intend to titrate up to roughly 500 mcg before the 10 mg runs out (depending on how it goes I may continue climbing if I stick with SubQ). After that I'll move to intranasal and compare the routes. I'll post updates as I go. Not sure my rat will test Semax, though.

Thanks ahead of time to anyone who shares protocols, pitfalls, or negative results as well.

My current Theory

Route-to-Phenotype Hypothesis (Selank)

Intranasal and SubQ may not be interchangeable; they may produce different anxiolytic phenotypes.

  • Panic / acute surges: likely favor intranasal due to faster CNS-onset effects (strongest in the ~30-180 min window).
  • Baseline generalized anxiety / chronic nervousness / work-stress reactivity: may favor SubQ because steadier exposure could reduce symptom fluctuation over days to weeks.
  • Performance anxiety: depends on timing goals: intranasal for immediate pre-stressor effect, SubQ for all-day baseline smoothing.
SubQ Research Positioning

SubQ should be studied as a distinct therapeutic profile, not a replacement route:

  • slower onset,
  • potentially steadier background anxiolysis,
  • possibly better for baseline stress tone than rapid interruption of acute spikes.

Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Here's some interesting rat data, however the studies are intraperitoneal (IP) Semax/Selank (NOT subQ) and intranasal.

Semax

Semax (rats): IP vs Intranasal

  • Intranasal: Best evidence for direct CNS-linked effects (neurotrophic/signaling and behavioral readouts).
  • IP: Strong systemic neuroprotection/anti-inflammatory effects in injury models; still reaches brain effects, but via systemic exposure.
  • Practical difference: Intranasal is usually chosen for brain-targeted peptide delivery logic; IP is easier for controlled systemic dosing in lab protocols.
Selank (rats): IP vs Intranasal

  • Intranasal: Clear anxiolytic/stress-modulating behavioral evidence.
  • IP: Also shows anti-stress/withdrawal-related effects, but route is systemic and not directly equivalent to nose-to-brain assumptions.
  • Practical difference: Intranasal is more aligned with CNS-focused peptide use; IP is common for reproducible systemic administration.
Bottom line

  • For both Semax and Selank, rat literature supports activity by both routes.
  • The main gap is few true head-to-head IP vs intranasal comparisons in the same study, so cross-paper comparisons are directional, not definitive.

Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Russian studies:

As of February 17, 2026, the human dosing reported in Russian clinical use/trials is roughly:


Click to expand...
Click to expand...
References:

Semax

  1. Intranasal
  2. Intraperitoneal (IP) / systemic injection models
Selank

  1. Intranasal
  2. Intraperitoneal (IP) / systemic injection models

Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
This has caught my attention too. As of late, the elderly rat began experimenting with Adamax once he got out of his enclosure.

Any updates you can share about how your semax/selank regimens are making you feel? Appreciate it!
 
I put together a Selank spray and a Semax spray: 10ml saline with 10mg compound. I do 2x squirts per nostril, 4 total, which I figure comes to roughly 400mcg, and I'm getting basically nothing from it.

In hindsight I should have divided the vials when they arrived — half of each set aside for nasal, half for subq — so I could run the comparison myself. But from everything I read on here, the consensus was that nasal wins out.

Given that I've had zero sides and solid results from every other thing I've tried, I suppose I was due for either a non-responder situation or a side effect.
 
My spray contains 20 mg of standard Semax and 4 mL of sterile saline, giving 500 mg per spray. That would also be a bit weak for me. You can always increase the dose to check whether you are a total non-responder.
 
Male, 60 years old. I gave IN Semax a shot at a typical starting amount and honestly couldn't tell much of a change. My assumption had been that brain bioavailability would make something happen right away. Took a few weeks off.

Later, once I stopped my KLOW following a 4 week run, the absence of injecting got to me (typical peptide user mindset, right?), so I dug through my stash hunting for SOMETHING, ANYTHING injectable, and spotted the Semax I'd been ignoring.

Mixed up a vial and ran roughly 400mcg subQ on 4 consecutive days. What hit me was a degree of clarity and focus I had not experienced before. I began completing other people's sentences with a fluency and word choice beyond what the person speaking could produce. I'm probably annoying, but don't care. I figure that's one more upside of Semax, maybe not written up anywhere.

Right now I'm away from home for a few days and left it behind, so whether the effect fades will be worth watching. Once I'm back home I plan to pick it up again.

Perhaps I'll check in again after restarting the injections, though by then my writing will likely be at a super-human level that many of you won't comprehend anyway. Fair warning.
 
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