What is Adamax?
Adamax is a chemically modified Semax. Specifically it is N-acetyl-Semax with an additional adamantane group. These two changes are meant to address two weaknesses of normal Semax: the short duration of action and the limited uptake into the brain. In theory Adamax therefore acts longer and crosses the blood-brain barrier better.
Honestly up front: Adamax is a pure research peptide and not approved as a medicine anywhere. Like Semax it is used nasally or subcutaneously and comes as a freeze-dried powder you dissolve in bacteriostatic water.
Comparison
Semax and its derivatives
Peptides from the TPD lexicon with the Semax core, told apart by the changes in their names. Tap a card to open its entry.
Simplified by the names of the compounds. Studies exist only for the parent molecule Semax, not for the derivatives. 12
How it works
Because Adamax descends from Semax, the mechanism is essentially the same: it goes back to a fragment of the hormone ACTH and is linked to driving nerve growth factors like BDNF and to nootropic effects (focus, resilience under stress). The adamantane modification is meant to make the action more stable and longer.
Important: that is the theory, derived from the well-studied Semax. For Adamax itself this evidence does not exist in study form, more on that below.
Where it acts
Where the parent molecule Semax acted
Tap a point or a card. All from rat studies with Semax, not with Adamax.
- Brain (hippocampus)
More BDNF and activated TrkB after Semax, plus more learned avoidance responses (rats)1
TrkB
Known targets1
Compound PubChem CID 9811102 (Semax): one described target, More expression and activation with Semax (rats), no direct binding shown.
- Gene
- NTRK2
- UniProt
- Q16620
- ChEMBL
- CHEMBL4898
- Action
- More expression and activation with Semax (rats), no direct binding shown
What you need
Depending on the route (nasal or subcutaneous) you need:
- The Adamax vial with the freeze-dried powder
- Bacteriostatic water to dissolve it
- For nasal: a small nasal spray bottle or a dropper
- For subcutaneous: U-100 insulin syringes
- Alcohol swabs and, for injection, a sealable sharps container for used needles
Reconstitution
The powder is dissolved in bacteriostatic water. How much water you add sets the concentration and therefore how many units you draw on the insulin syringe for your dose.
Use the peptide calculator for this. You can use the same solution nasally as drops, in which case the concentration helps estimate the amount per drop.
When dissolving, just add the bac water, it does not matter if it hits the powder directly. Then swirl or shake until everything has dissolved, both are fine.
Step by step
Dissolving the powder
Four steps, the same for every vial size.
- 1Wipe the cap
Clean the rubber stopper with an alcohol swab.
- 2Add BAC water
Just add it, it does not matter if it hits the powder directly.
- 3Swirl or shake
Until everything has dissolved, both are fine.
- 4Draw up
With the U-100 insulin syringe.
Use (nasal or subcutaneous)
Dosing
Dosing
Dosing, titration and syringe
Loading the dosing information …
- Getting started and stepping up, drawn as a staircase
- Units on the U-100 syringe for every step
- How long one vial lasts
What the research shows
This is the most honest part: on Adamax itself there are practically no published studies. The whole rationale rests on the parent molecule Semax, which is well studied (on BDNF, neuroprotection and cognition), plus the assumption that the chemical modification improves duration and brain penetration. Whether that really holds in humans is not proven in study form.
Below we therefore link a study on the parent molecule Semax, clearly labelled. Anyone who wants a solid data base is better served with Semax.
Study results
What the trials measured
Interactive: switch tabs, tap points, show or hide arms. Arms are named relative to each other, no dosing advice.
BDNF system in the hippocampus of rats1
Peak after a single dose of Semax, as a multiple of control
Values from the abstract. Study with the parent molecule Semax in rats, not with Adamax. Whether Adamax acts similarly or more strongly has not been studied.
Research status
Where the research stands
There is neither a registered trial nor a publication on Adamax. The parent molecule Semax is not listed on ClinicalTrials.gov either. As of 26 Oct 2026. 4
Side effects
Because Adamax is related to Semax, a similar, rather mild profile is assumed: slight irritation of the nasal lining with nasal use, occasionally head pressure and with use too late in the day possibly worse sleep. Solid safety data specifically on Adamax are missing, though, which makes caution and a low start all the more important.
Practice
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Start very low, precisely because the data are thin.
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Rather in the morning and across the day, not late evening (likely activating like Semax).
-
In phases rather than continuously.
-
If you value proven effect, take Semax instead, that is the studied original.
Storage
The undissolved powder is robust, normal room temperature (around 20 to 25 degrees) is fine, ideally kept in the dark. The reconstituted solution goes into the fridge (2 to 8 degrees) and stays stable there for at least 4 to 6 months with barely any loss of potency, in practice considerably longer. The bacteriostatic water brings a preservative that keeps the dissolved form stable for longer.
Shelf life
How long it keeps
Robust, no fridge needed. Best kept in the dark.
At least 4 to 6 months with barely any loss of potency. The bacteriostatic water brings a preservative.
- Keep it dark
- Dissolved: 2 to 8 degrees
- Note the mixing date on the vial
