Peptide Research: What Is it?
Disclaimer: All references to "research subjects" or "test subjects" or and reference to "research" throughout this article refer to research conducted on non human non veterinary research subjects such as rats and mice.
Peptides: A Primer For All
Peptides are amazing building blocks found in all living things, and learning about Peptide Research can change the way you look at the world. You’ve had a long day so we’ve done all the research for you. Now you don’t have to scour a million articles just to get the information you need. Sit back, relax, and be informed!
No matter the organism, all living things house the same twenty complex protein structures known as amino acids. Scientists found, through rigorous research and study, that there was another class of organic substances that also contained amino acids while being different from protein amino acids.
These substances became known as Peptides and have been the foundation of Peptide Research for generations. Compared to proteins, Peptides structures are simplistic and are linked to amino acids through a creation known as a Peptide Bond. There are two types of peptides, oligopeptides and polypeptides.
When these peptide chains reach up to fifty amino acids, they are considered as a protein.
The History of Peptide Research
Starting in 1902, two scientists named Starling and Bayliss discovered secretin. They showed acid arriving in the stomach freed a chemical from the jejunal mucosa that jogged down to the pancreas and caused it to increase its activity. For the first time, peptides had been discovered and this won them a Nobel Prize in Physiology.
Nearly thirty years later in 1931, a chemical known as “Substance P (SP)” was found by Ulf Von Euler and John H. Gaddum. This was a tissue extract that made intestines contract. It was also found to be a vasodilator, which opens up blood vessels and keeps muscles from tightening and walls from closing, which in turn increases blood flow. Peptide Research and its effects on the organic nervous systems and this was eventually named a “Neuropeptide”.
Skip ahead twenty two years and in 1953 Vincent Du Vigneaud made a discovery during their studies of oxytocin, a hormone that plays a role in sexual intimacy and reproduction in mammals. He managed to isolate this chemical and analyze its sequence of amino acids, thus becoming the first person to sequence a peptide and artificially reproduce oxytocin as a result.
During their Peptide Research in 1960 Rita Levi-Montalcini and Stanley Cohen found a compound that was denoted by its peripheral cells, that attached to neurons in the spine and caused neurite formations. They were able to isolate this compound from snake venom, mouse saliva, tumors, and more. The scientific community was skeptical of their research, but later this compound became known as NGF, or nerve growth factor.
Is Peptide Research Safe?
Though Peptide Research has been ongoing in a scientific capacity for over eighty years, we have only just begun to understand all the effects Peptides have on all forms of life on our planet. Current studies have shown that Peptides are safe in a research environment and when introduced to animal life in carefully controlled tests. There have been over seven thousand different peptides that are naturally occurring that scientists have identified, and there are many more being discovered each day.
How Widespread is Peptide Research?
The modern Research Peptide market has expanded to cover nearly every corner of the world. In 2011 the Peptide Research market grossed around $14.11 BN and rose to an estimated $25.4 BN in 2018. This is due to the wide applications of Peptides in research facilities. Current studies show that they are a sweet spot between small molecules and biopharmaceuticals, costing less to produce and being more adaptable than their counterparts.
There are over one hundred and forty therapeutic peptides being trialed in laboratories across the world, each with various treatments and applications for mammalian species. The medical implications of peptide research are wide and varied, allowing for future studies into medicines to be approached from new angles and perspectives.
Now that you know, what’s next?
Whether this is old information to you, or something entirely new, or if you simply wanted to sate your curiosity on the wide world of peptide research, you’ll find all the knowledge you desire in our blogs and throughout our website. When it comes to research peptides, SAF Research has everything you need to boost your research and ensure you have the tools for success!