SS-31

SS-31 research peptide in Thailand

SS-31 is a synthetic, mitochondria-targeting tetrapeptide that binds cardiolipin on the inner mitochondrial membrane, studied in models of mitochondrial dysfunction, cardiac and renal ischaemia-reperfusion injury, and age-related bioenergetic decline. It is indexed in the clinical literature under the name elamipretide (also MTP-131 and Bendavia), the form in which it has been taken through human trials by Stealth BioTherapeutics.

This listing is for laboratory research use only. It is not a medicine, supplement, anti-ageing product, or energy product.

Quick facts

Product

SS-31 (elamipretide / MTP-131 / Bendavia)

CAS

736992-21-5

Molecular weight

~639.8 g/mol

Form

Lyophilised powder, sealed vial

Key researcher

Hazel Szeto (Szeto-Schiller peptide series)

Intended use

laboratory research use only

How SS-31 works

Most peptides act on a cell-surface receptor. SS-31 does not. It is a small alternating aromatic-cationic tetrapeptide that crosses membranes without a transporter and concentrates in the inner mitochondrial membrane, where it binds cardiolipin — the signature anionic phospholipid that gives cristae their curvature and holds the electron-transport chain complexes in place. Because cardiolipin is found almost nowhere else in the cell, the peptide's distribution is effectively self-targeting.

Cardiolipin is also what goes wrong first in a stressed mitochondrion. When it oxidises, cytochrome c binds it and switches from an electron carrier into a peroxidase, cristae flatten, and ATP output collapses. Published work describes SS-31 binding cardiolipin, inhibiting that cytochrome c peroxidase activity, and preserving cristae architecture under ischaemic stress (Birk, J Am Soc Nephrol, 2013). This structural-protection mechanism, rather than a receptor-signalling one, is why researchers use it as a reference tool in cardiolipin and supercomplex studies.

Key research findings

• SS-31 was shown to bind cardiolipin with high affinity, inhibit cytochrome c peroxidase activity, preserve cristae during ischaemia, and enable rapid ATP recovery on reperfusion in renal ischaemia-reperfusion models (Birk, J Am Soc Nephrol, 2013).
• In aged mouse muscle mitochondria, elamipretide increased ADP sensitivity by raising ADP uptake through the adenine nucleotide translocator, alongside reductions in oxidative modification (Pharaoh, GeroScience, 2023).
• MMPOWER-3, a randomised placebo-controlled trial of elamipretide in adults with primary mitochondrial myopathy, did not demonstrate significant benefit on its primary endpoint in a genotypically diverse population; a later post hoc analysis reported differing responses between genotype subgroups (Karaa, Neurology, 2023; Karaa, Orphanet J Rare Dis, 2024).

Research applications

• Cardiolipin binding, cristae ultrastructure, and supercomplex-stability studies
• Cardiac and renal ischaemia-reperfusion injury models
• Mitochondrial ageing, oxidative post-translational modification, and sarcopenia research
• Primary mitochondrial myopathy and Barth syndrome disease models
• Cellular bioenergetics assays — ATP output, respiration, and ADP sensitivity
• Structure-activity comparison across the Szeto-Schiller tetrapeptide series

Dosing in the literature

The registered elamipretide trials used 40 mg/day subcutaneously at the upper end of that span. These are parameters as reported in published human and animal protocols, not administration guidance. To model concentrations for a defined laboratory protocol, use the SS-31 peptide calculator.

Reconstitution & storage

Solvent

Bacteriostatic water — standard for lyophilised research peptides

Mixing

Add solvent down the vial wall and swirl gently until dissolved; do not shake

Storage

Refrigerated (2-8 °C) after reconstitution, in common laboratory practice

Use within

A few weeks once reconstituted

Freeze / light

Keep lyophilised powder frozen or cold, sealed, and protected from light

This reflects common laboratory handling practice for lyophilised peptides. In Thailand's heat and humidity, minimise time at ambient temperature during storage and courier handling, and keep vials sealed and out of direct sunlight.

Selected research

• The mitochondrial-targeted compound SS-31 re-energizes ischemic mitochondria by interacting with cardiolipin — J Am Soc Nephrol, 2013
• The mitochondrially targeted peptide elamipretide (SS-31) improves ADP sensitivity in aged mitochondria by increasing uptake through the adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT) — GeroScience, 2023
• Elamipretide (SS-31) treatment attenuates age-associated post-translational modifications of heart proteins — GeroScience, 2021
• Efficacy and Safety of Elamipretide in Individuals With Primary Mitochondrial Myopathy: The MMPOWER-3 Randomized Clinical Trial — Neurology, 2023
• Structure-activity relationships of mitochondria-targeted tetrapeptide pharmacological compounds — eLife, 2022
• Browse all indexed elamipretide / SS-31 literature on PubMed

Related compounds

• MOTS-c — a mitochondrial-derived peptide encoded in mitochondrial DNA and studied via AMPK activation. Where SS-31 is studied for protecting inner-membrane structure, MOTS-c is studied as a mitochondrial signalling molecule, so the two appear in complementary mitochondrial research designs.
• NAD+ — the central redox cofactor the electron-transport chain depends on. It is frequently studied alongside SS-31 in mitochondrial-ageing work, since the two address bioenergetic decline from structural and cofactor angles respectively.

See also: mitochondrial research compounds and more mitochondrial and cellular research compounds.

SS-31 FAQ

Compliance note

SS-31 is supplied for laboratory research use only. It is not for human or veterinary use, and it is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. All findings referenced above are the results of specific published studies, not claims about this product.