// Research archive
Vol. I · Est. 2026
Research use only.

////// ArchiveEvery compound documented like a specimen. Sourced, cited, dated.

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Plate 01 / Archive · Frame 000
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////// AURUM SEQUENCE · Research archive · Vol. I

The Compound Library.

Research peptides, catalogued like specimens: what each compound is, how it works, and where the evidence stands today.

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////// Plate 02 · The specimen

Every compound, catalogued like a specimen.

Structure · Mechanism · Evidence · Status. Documented, cited, dated.

////// The catalogue · Vol. I

Specimens, indexed.

Each entry is a research briefing, not a recommendation. Last reviewed September 2026.

Vol. I

Specimen_01Nº 001 · Metabolic

Retatrutide

GIP · GLP-1 · glucagon receptor triple agonist

One engineered peptide that activates three hormone receptors at once. GLP-1 and GIP signaling drive satiety and insulin response, while glucagon-receptor activity is thought to raise energy expenditure and liver fat oxidation. In a 48-week Phase 2 trial, the highest dose produced a mean weight reduction of about 24%.

Research files · 2 parts
Targets
GIPR · GLP-1R · GCGR
Structure
39-aa peptide, C20 fatty-diacid
Half-life
≈ 6 days
Status
Investigational · Phase 3
Ref · Jastreboff et al., NEJM 2023 Research use only
Specimen_02Nº 002 · GH axis

Tesamorelin

Growth-hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) analogue

A stabilized analogue of the body's own GHRH. Rather than supplying growth hormone directly, it signals the pituitary to release GH in its natural pulsatile rhythm, raising IGF-1 downstream. In Phase 3 trials it reduced visceral abdominal fat by roughly 15–18% over 26 weeks, and it has since been studied for liver fat.

Research file · Tesamorelin
Target
GHRH receptor, pituitary
Structure
44-aa GHRH(1–44), hexenoyl-capped
Half-life
≈ 26–38 min
Status
FDA-approved 2010 (Egrifta®)
Ref · Falutz et al., NEJM 2007 Research use only
Specimen_03Nº 003 · Diluent

Bacteriostatic Water

Sterile water · 0.9% benzyl alcohol

Sterile water with benzyl alcohol added as a preservative — the alcohol is what makes a vial re-enterable instead of single-use. It does not sterilise anything and it does not fix a contaminated draw; it holds bacterial growth in the solution in check between withdrawals, which is where the 28-day figure on the label comes from. Plain Sterile Water for Injection carries no preservative and is one entry only.

Research file · Bacteriostatic Water
Preservative
Benzyl alcohol · 9 mg/mL
Once opened
28 days, then discard
Storage
20–25 °C · do not freeze
Vial
Multiple-dose · 10 / 30 mL
Ref · USP Bacteriostatic Water Research use only
Specimen_04Nº 004 · Diluent

Acetic Acid

Dilute acid co-solvent · 0.6% in sterile water

The solvent you reach for only after water has already failed. Some peptides are too hydrophobic, too basic, or too quick to aggregate to go into bacteriostatic water at all — the powder stays chalky or grainy no matter how long it is swirled. Dropping the pH breaks up those interactions and brings the peptide into solution. Glacial acetic acid is around 99% and corrosive; it is never used neat.

Reach for it
Won't dissolve in water
Typical form
0.6% ≈ 0.1 M · pH ≈ 3
Preservative
None
Caution
Never glacial, never neat
Ref · Peptide solubility practice Research use only
Specimen_05Nº 005 · Diluent

Sterile Water

Water for Injection, USP · no preservative

The same water, minus the benzyl alcohol. No preservative, no buffer, nothing added — which is exactly why it is a single-dose container: one entry, then the remainder is discarded. It exists for the cases where benzyl alcohol is the problem rather than the protection, either because a compound is degraded by it or because it has to be avoided. On its own it is also hypotonic, which is why the label will not let it stand as an injection until something has been added to it.

Preservative
None
Once opened
Single-dose · discard rest
Acidity
pH 5.5 (5.0 – 7.0)
Tonicity
Hypotonic on its own
Ref · USP Sterile Water Research use only
Specimen_06Nº 006 · Pending

Entry in documentation

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Specimen_07Nº 007 · Repair

KPV

Lys–Pro–Val · α-MSH C-terminal fragment

Three amino acids — lysine, proline, valine — and nothing else. KPV is the tail end of α-MSH, a signalling peptide the body already makes, and it appears to carry much of the parent molecule's anti-inflammatory signalling on its own. Studied across gut barrier integrity, skin inflammation and recovery pathways, which are one mechanism showing up in several places.

Research file · KPV
Sequence
Lys–Pro–Val (3 residues)
Parent
α-MSH, C-terminal fragment
Studied for
Inflammatory signalling
Typical range
500 mcg – 1 mg daily
Status
Research compound · not FDA approved
Ref · Dalmasso et al., Gastroenterology 2008 Research use only
Specimen_08Nº 008 · Repair

GHK-Cu

Gly–His–Lys · copper tripeptide-1

A three-amino-acid peptide that carries a copper ion — which is why the reconstituted solution is blue. GHK-Cu occurs naturally in human plasma and declines with age, and it is studied for collagen and extracellular matrix signalling, hair follicle biology, tissue remodelling and regenerative pathways. One repair signal showing up wherever tissue is being rebuilt.

Research file · GHK-Cu
Sequence
Gly–His–Lys (3 residues)
Carries
Cu²⁺, bound at the histidine
Studied for
Collagen · follicle · remodelling
Typical range
1–2 mg daily
Status
Research compound · not FDA approved
Ref · Pickart & Margolina, Int J Mol Sci 2018 Research use only
Specimen_09Nº 009 · Repair

Glutathione

Glu–Cys–Gly · the body's own antioxidant

A three-amino-acid peptide your own cells produce constantly, in every tissue. Its job is to neutralise oxidative stress — the free radicals thrown off by ordinary metabolism — and the whole reaction happens at a single sulfur atom on the middle residue. That one mechanism is why the same molecule turns up in research on liver detoxification pathways, skin clarity, recovery from stress and alcohol, and cellular immune defence. Not four uses: one job, observed in four tissues.

Research file · Glutathione
Sequence
Glu–Cys–Gly (3 residues)
Active group
Cysteine –SH · the sulfur
Studied for
Detox · skin · recovery · immune
Typical range
50–200 mg, 2–3× weekly
Status
Research compound · not FDA approved
Ref · Forman et al., Mol Aspects Med 2009 Research use only
Specimen_10Nº 010 · HPG axis

Kisspeptin-10

Kisspeptin-10 · GnRH-releasing signal

A signalling peptide the body already makes, sitting at the very top of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. It supplies no hormone at all: it talks to KNDy neurons in the hypothalamus, which release GnRH, which tells the pituitary to put out LH and FSH, which act on the gonads. Four steps before any testosterone or estrogen is made — which is why it is studied as a way to work through the body's own signalling rather than around it, and why individual response varies so widely.

Research file · Kisspeptin-10
Sits at
Top of the HPG axis
Triggers
GnRH → LH and FSH
Half-life
~30–60 minutes
Typical range
100–300 mcg per administration
Status
Research compound · not FDA approved
Ref · Seminara et al., NEJM 2003 Research use only
Specimen_11Nº 011 · Metabolic

MOTS-c

16 residues · mitochondrial-derived peptide

A sixteen-amino-acid peptide encoded inside the mitochondria rather than the nucleus, which makes it part of a small signalling vocabulary the energy machinery has of its own. Studied for metabolic efficiency, insulin sensitivity, endurance and exercise adaptation — and described consistently as gradual rather than stimulant-like, building over weeks. The headline findings are rodent work; human data is still thin.

Research file · MOTS-c Compare · NAD+ vs MOTS-c
Encoded in
Mitochondrial 12S rRNA
Length
16 amino acids
Studied for
Metabolic efficiency · endurance
Typical range
5 mg, 3× weekly for 6–8 weeks
Status
Research compound · not FDA approved
Ref · Lee et al., Cell Metab 2015 Research use only
Specimen_12Nº 012 · Metabolic

NAD+

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide · coenzyme

Not a hormone and not a signal — a coenzyme present in every cell, whose job is carrying electrons through the reactions that let mitochondria turn food and oxygen into ATP. Levels fall with age, and also with chronic stress, poor sleep, heavy training, alcohol and illness. Studied for cellular energy, DNA repair, healthy ageing and recovery. Worth knowing that most human work on raising NAD+ has used precursors rather than NAD+ itself, and that the enthusiasm largely rests on mouse models.

Research file · NAD+ Compare · NAD+ vs MOTS-c
Type
Coenzyme, not a peptide
Role
Electron carrier → ATP
Falls with
Age · stress · sleep · alcohol
Typical range
25 mg, working up to 100 mg
Status
Research compound · not FDA approved
Ref · Rajman, Chwalek & Sinclair, Cell Metab 2018 Research use only
I.

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II.

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