What SS-31 is
SS-31 is the research name for elamipretide, a Szeto-Schiller peptide that concentrates in the inner mitochondrial membrane and binds cardiolipin, developed by Stealth BioTherapeutics through real Phase 2 and 3 trials in mitochondrial myopathy, Barth syndrome, and eye disease. It is a legitimate investigational drug with published human pharmacokinetics, which is rare for compounds in the longevity corner of the gray market.
Worth knowing: the clinical trials dosed 40 mg daily, several times the common community dose, so gray-market protocols are running well below the exposure the trial evidence describes.
Reconstitution math
Concentration is everything: the same 10 mg vial gives a different draw for every amount of bacteriostatic water you add. The table uses the common 2 mL setup for each vial size, which puts every unit on a U-100 insulin syringe at 50 mcg for the default vial. Dashes mark draws too small to measure or larger than the syringe.
| Vial | BAC water | Concentration | 5 mg | 10 mg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 mg | 2 mL | 5 mg/mL | 100 u | - |
| 50 mg | 2 mL | 25 mg/mL | 20 u | 40 u |
Dosing and protocol
Clinical trials dosed 40 mg daily subcutaneously; community protocols run 5 to 10 mg daily.
Community protocols run 5 to 10 mg subcutaneously daily, usually in the morning. On a 10 mg vial with 2 mL of water, 5 mg is a 50-unit draw. With a half-life of a few hours there is no accumulation; daily dosing is about repeated exposure, not building a level.
Pharmacokinetics
SS-31 has published human pharmacokinetics: peak about one hour after a subcutaneous dose; half-life in the 2 to 4 hour range. The curves below are normalized one-compartment models built from the cited half-life, the same math the Planner uses. They show shape and timing, not absolute blood levels.
Storage and handling
Lyophilized vials keep best cold, dark, and dry; refrigeration is the community default and freezing lyophilized powder is common for long holds. After reconstitution, refrigerate at 2 to 8 C, do not freeze the solution, and date the vial. Bacteriostatic water's preservative keeps multi-dose use practical for about 28 days by USP convention, though our 120-day stability study found the preservative itself outlasts that window.
Got a certificate of analysis with your vial? Run it through our COA Reader: it reads the report in plain English, checks purity and mass against the label claim, and links the testing lab’s own verification page. Our guide to reading a COA explains what the numbers do and do not tell you.
Sources
- Karaa et al., Elamipretide in mitochondrial myopathy (MMPOWER-3), Neurology 2023
- Reid Thompson et al., Elamipretide in Barth syndrome (TAZPOWER), Genet Med 2021