Acetyl Octapeptide-3 (SNAP-8) bulk powder for formulators

Acetyl Octapeptide-3 is an N-acetylated, C-amidated eight-residue peptide, Ac-Glu-Glu-Met-Gln-Arg-Arg-Ala-Asp-NH2, known in sourcing conversations by the originator's trade name SNAP-8. It is the longer sibling of Acetyl Hexapeptide-8: the first six residues are identical and the octapeptide adds alanine and aspartic acid at the carboxyl end. Eye-area serum and emulsion formulators ask for it by the trade name and then need the INCI name and the right CAS number for their paperwork.

The peptide is made by Pepti, Guangzhou and sold as bulk powder from 5 g under the INCI name, shipped cold-chain with a lot COA showing HPLC purity and mass-spectrometry identity and an SDS on request. One public batch record is already in the Pepti COA library and appears in the table further down.

Identity and naming: INCI, trade name and two CAS numbers

Three naming layers meet on this compound, and the paperwork should use the right one.

• INCI name. Acetyl Octapeptide-3. The FDA Global Substance Registration System lists it under UNII 8K14HJF88S with the sequence above, and the synonym Acetyl Glutamyl Heptapeptide-3 sits in the same record; the older name refers to the same molecule.
• Trade name. SNAP-8 belongs to the originator. Pepti material is a generic equivalent sold under the INCI name; it is not the originator's product and should not be labelled with the trade name.
• CAS number. PubChem CID 76283482 resolves the INCI name to CAS 868844-74-0, formula C41H70N16O16S, molecular weight 1075.2 g/mol. The public Pepti batch record prints 868844-73-9, a near-neighbour number that PubChem does not resolve. This page uses 868844-74-0; the record has been flagged for correction.

Appearance, solubility and handling

The powder is white to off-white and carries no colour signal, so appearance is a gross check only and the COA is the quality measure. It dissolves readily in water and water-glycol mixtures to a clear, colourless solution; it has no useful solubility in oils or silicones.

The handling point that matters most is oxidation. The methionine side chain is a thioether and converts to the sulfoxide when powder or solution meets air, light or oxidising ingredients; the sulfoxide appears on HPLC as a separate impurity peak. Keep the container closed under its original headspace, avoid repeated opening, and protect solutions from light. The powder is also hygroscopic: weigh quickly from a container at room temperature.

Pepti ships the material for storage at 2–8 °C protected from light, with −20 °C for long-term holding.

What the published literature reports

The peer-reviewed record for the octapeptide itself is thin. The open literature concerns the shorter hexapeptide from which it was derived; the octapeptide's own data sit in the originator's technical material.

Blanes-Mira and colleagues describe the hexapeptide Ac-Glu-Glu-Met-Gln-Arg-Arg-NH2 as a peptide designed to mimic the action of botulinum neurotoxins. They report that in their assays it interfered with the formation or stability of the SNARE complex, the protein assembly that drives calcium-dependent vesicle fusion, and reduced neurotransmitter release, and they describe a 30-day skin-topography study of an oil-in-water emulsion in volunteers from which they report an antiwrinkle effect (Blanes-Mira C et al. Int J Cosmet Sci, 2002).

For the octapeptide, the public sources we could verify are identity records: the FDA Global Substance Registration System lists Acetyl Octapeptide-3 with its sequence, CAS 868844-74-0 and the synonym SNAP-8 (FDA GSRS UNII 8K14HJF88S), and PubChem carries the same identity (PubChem CID 76283482). We did not find an independent peer-reviewed study of the eight-residue peptide.

The originator presents the octapeptide as an elongation of the hexapeptide aimed at the same target; that is the originator's statement, not a claim for the buyer's product.

Formulation notes for the bench

These notes concern stability and compatibility in the buyer's base, not what a finished product will do.

• Oxidation is the main degradation route. Keep peroxide-forming ingredients, such as aged polyethoxylated surfactants, away from the peptide or test the combination early. Nitrogen-flushed headspace for bulk solutions and airless packaging both limit sulfoxide formation.
• pH and heat. The amide terminus and the acidic side chains are stable across roughly pH 4.5 to 7; strongly alkaline bases accelerate deamidation of the glutamine and the terminal amide. Pre-dissolve in water or a water-glycol premix and add in the cool-down phase, below 40 °C.
• Charge. With three acidic residues against two arginines and both termini capped, the molecule carries a small net negative charge at skincare pH. Cationic polymers and conditioning agents can pair with it and cloud a clear serum; check clarity after each addition.
• Preservation. Peptide solutions support microbial growth; confirm the preservative system by challenge test in the buyer's own base.

Use level is the formulator's decision, set from stability work in the buyer's base; Pepti does not publish a recommended level.

Specification and documents for this material

Each lot ships with a COA that reports reverse-phase HPLC purity as area percent, mass-spectrometry identity read against the expected weight of 1075.2 g/mol, appearance, and the storage and retest statements. The HPLC method resolves the methionine sulfoxide from the parent peak, so a rising sulfoxide signal on retest is visible. Water content and counter-ion are added to the COA when the buyer's specification requires them, and an SDS is available on request.

One public batch record for this compound is listed in the Pepti COA library and appears in the table below with its reported purity. It is a vial-format record and prints the older CAS number discussed above. The bulk-powder lot you receive carries its own COA, which is the document to file.

Public batch records for SNAP-8

Vial-format records published by the manufacturer. Reported HPLC purity is per lot; your bulk-powder lot carries its own COA.

Record	Specification	HPLC purity	Record page
PEP260719-NP810	10 mg vial	99.13%	Open record PEP260719-NP810 on peptioem.com