elamipretide Structure: Sequence and Physicochemical Data
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The sequence, residue by residue
elamipretide is H-D-Arg-2',6'-Dmt-Lys-Phe-NH2 — four residues: a D-arginine, the non-natural aromatic 2',6'-dimethyltyrosine (Dmt), a lysine, and a C-terminal phenylalaninamide. Two deviations from ribosomal chemistry define it: the D-enantiomer arginine at the N-terminus and the doubly methylated tyrosine analog in position two, both designed features of the original screening program that selected for mitochondrial membrane association.
Every residue has a documented job. The basic residues (D-Arg, Lys) carry the positive charge that drives electrostatic attraction to anionic cardiolipin headgroups; the Dmt and Phe residues supply hydrophobic anchoring; the C-terminal amide removes a negative charge that would otherwise fight the binding. The structure is thus a compact solution to the design problem — which is why the molecule survived from screening library to approved drug essentially unchanged.
The physicochemical parameters
The reference numbers: molecular formula C32H49N9O5 for the free base, molecular weight approximately 639.8 Da, and a net positive charge at physiological pH from the guanidinium, ammonium and terminal amine groups. Published pharmacokinetic work and the forzinity label report a plasma half-life around 4 hours — while membrane-associated residence time behaves on a different clock, a decoupling noted repeatedly in the ss-31 literature and summarized in our mechanism review.
As with any peptide, the isolated substance is a salt — acetate forms appear in pharmaceutical contexts, trifluoroacetate in research-grade material — and the salt form changes measured mass and solubility behavior. Research-grade listings therefore state (or should state) their salt form; the same documentation discipline applies to ss-31 catalog material as to any research peptide, a point developed across our elamipretide cost and market-trends pages.
How structure maps to function
The structure-function logic is unusually legible for a bioactive peptide: charge for target attraction, aromatic bulk for membrane anchoring, small size for rapid tissue distribution. Published structure-activity work on ss-31 analogs — residue substitutions, charge variants, Dmt replacements — demonstrates that removing any of the three features collapses mitochondrial association. The molecule is close to a minimal solution to its design problem.
That legibility is also why the molecule is scientifically popular: it reads like a designed object because it is one, selected from a library by assay rather than evolved. The implications for research-grade supply are direct — a four-residue sequence with two modified residues is straightforward to synthesize and hard to fake convincingly in a COA — which shapes the market analysis on our market structure page.
Identity and purity: the analytical signatures
The standard identity stack for this molecule: analytical HPLC for the main-peak purity percentage, LC-MS or MALDI for the molecular-weight confirmation (calculated vs found mass), and content/salt-form declaration for mass arithmetic. A certificate of analysis carrying all three describes a real workflow; a purity percentage alone describes a marketing department — the same documentation literacy this site applies across the peptide field.
The regulatory-side counterpart is the FDA label's own identity and strength data for forzinity, documented on our label summary page. Keeping structural facts attached to their channel — literature values for the free base, label values for the product, COA values for catalog material — is the normalization discipline the data-usage steps below make routine.
How to use the data on this page
Step 1 — extract the parameters. Extract structural parameters with their basis: sequence, calculated and found molecular weight, salt form, net charge and purity method. A molecular weight without its salt-form context and a purity without its method are both incomplete data points — the gap list is a finding.
Step 2 — normalize before comparing. Normalize mass-based calculations by salt form and net content before comparing any two sources' figures: free-base and acetate masses differ measurably, and research-grade TFA salts differ again. Per-milligram pricing and solution concentrations both change with the correction.
Step 3 — grade the source. Grade the source: peer-reviewed structure-activity papers and pharmacopeial-grade documents outrank catalog pages, which outrank secondary summaries. For identity specifically, the calculated-vs-found mass pair is the checkable artifact — demand it.
Parameter comparison
elamipretide structural and physicochemical parameters with their published basis.
| Parameter | Value | Notes / basis |
|---|---|---|
| Sequence | H-D-Arg-2',6'-Dmt-Lys-Phe-NH2 | Four residues; D-Arg and Dmt are non-ribosomal features |
| Molecular formula (free base) | C32H49N9O5 | Published structural data |
| Molecular weight | ≈ 639.8 Da (free base) | Salt forms differ in mass |
| Residue classes | 2 cationic (Arg, Lys), 2 aromatic (Dmt, Phe) | Charge + hydrophobic anchoring by design |
| Net charge (physiological pH) | Positive (multiple protonatable amines) | Drives cardiolipin electrostatics |
| Terminal modification | C-terminal amide | Removes a competing negative charge |
| Plasma half-life | ≈ 4 hours | Label + pharmacokinetic literature |
| Salt forms in trade | Acetate (pharma), TFA (research-grade) | Affects mass and solubility arithmetic |
Table: elamipretide structural and physicochemical parameters with their published basis. — compiled from public regulatory and academic sources; verify against the original documents before use.
Frequently asked questions
What is the amino acid sequence of elamipretide?
H-D-Arg-2',6'-Dmt-Lys-Phe-NH2 — four residues, including one D-enantiomer arginine and the modified aromatic residue 2',6'-dimethyltyrosine, with a C-terminal amide.
What is the molecular weight of elamipretide?
Approximately 639.8 Da for the free base (formula C32H49N9O5). Salt forms — acetate or trifluoroacetate — and water content change the measured mass of any real sample.
References
- elamipretide (ss-31) structural characterization and structure-activity literature (PubMed indexed).
- FDA forzinity prescribing information — clinical pharmacology sections.
- Peptide analytical-method references (HPLC, LC-MS identity confirmation practice).