Noopept

Noopept (Omberacetam, GVS-111)

Noopept is a synthetic proline-containing dipeptide, the ethyl ester of N-phenylacetyl-L-prolylglycine. It was designed at the Zakusov Institute of Pharmacology as a conformationally constrained dipeptide analogue of the pyrrolidone nootropics, which is why it is frequently described alongside the racetam family despite not sharing their 2-oxopyrrolidine core. In laboratory work it is used chiefly as a reference ligand for Pro-Gly dipeptide pharmacology and as a comparator against piracetam in neurochemical assays, where it is active at concentrations roughly three orders of magnitude lower.

Its pharmacology is complicated by biotransformation: Noopept is cleaved in tissue to cycloprolylglycine (cyclo-L-prolylglycine, CPG), an endogenous cyclic dipeptide that is itself neuroactive. Experiments intended to characterise the parent compound therefore have to account for a metabolite with overlapping activity, and analytical protocols commonly track both species.

Additional Properties

Storage guidance is a house recommendation. Analytical documentation is per-lot release testing.

Research Applications & Mechanism of Action

No single receptor accounts for the reported activity of this dipeptide, and the mechanistic literature converges on several distinct lines of investigation rather than one target. Primary fields of in vitro and preclinical laboratory investigation include:

• Neurotrophin Expression: Measuring NGF and BDNF mRNA in hippocampal and cortical tissue models, where the compound is used as a positive comparator in transcript-level assays.

• Hypoxia-Response Signalling: Probing HIF-1 DNA-binding activity and HIF-1α stabilisation in neuronal cell lines. Docking work implicates HIF prolyl hydroxylase 2 as a binding partner, which offers a plausible common root for otherwise unrelated observations.

• Glutamatergic Mediation: Using NMDA and quisqualate/AMPA antagonists to dissect which receptor populations mediate electrophysiological responses, and to characterise how those responses change on repeated exposure.

• Metabolite Pharmacology: Separating the activity of the parent ester from cycloprolylglycine in cell-free and tissue preparations.

• Analytical Reference Work: Serving as a characterised standard for chromatographic and mass-spectrometric method development across the Pro-Gly dipeptide class.

Selected Research Literature

Peer-reviewed preclinical literature indexed on PubMed, provided for scientific context only. These are animal and in-vitro studies; nothing here describes or implies a use for this material.

• Ostrovskaya RU, Gudasheva TA, Zaplina AP, et al. Noopept stimulates the expression of NGF and BDNF in rat hippocampus. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2008;146(3):334-337. doi:10.1007/s10517-008-0297-x
• Zainullina LF, Ivanova TV, Sadovnikov SV, Vakhitova YV, Seredenin SB. Cognitive enhancer noopept activates transcription factor HIF-1. Dokl Biochem Biophys. 2020;494(1):256-260. doi:10.1134/S1607672920050129
• Vorobyov V, Kaptsov V, Kovalev G, Sengpiel F. Effects of nootropics on the EEG in conscious rats and their modification by glutamatergic inhibitors. Brain Res Bull. 2011;85(3-4):123-132. doi:10.1016/j.brainresbull.2011.02.011

Assay note. Vorobyov et al. report that the electrophysiological response changes across repeated administrations in rats, and that an AMPA/quisqualate antagonist restores it. Exposure history is therefore a variable worth recording rather than an experimental detail to standardise away.

Analytical Documentation

Purity, identity, and composition vary by manufacturing lot. Kimera Chems does not publish a single fixed purity figure for this item; refer to the batch-specific Certificate of Analysis (COA) issued for the lot received, which reflects third-party analytical testing for that lot. Contact us if a COA for your lot is required.

Related Research Compounds

• Aniracetam
• Coluracetam
• Fasoracetam
• ISRIB

Research Use Disclaimer

Research Use Only Disclaimer: This product is labeled and sold "For Research Use Only - NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION." It is not a drug, dietary supplement, food, cosmetic, or medical device, and it is not approved by the FDA or any other regulator for human or veterinary use. It is supplied to approved account holders as a research chemical for laboratory use and must be handled in accordance with applicable law.