SS-31 20 mg

About SS-31

SS-31 is the research name for elamipretide, a peptide of four amino acids, one of them a modified tyrosine (2,6-dimethyltyrosine).⁵³ In lab studies it crosses cell membranes, gathers in mitochondria and binds cardiolipin, a lipid of the inner mitochondrial membrane that is needed to form the cristae, the folds where ATP is made.¹¹¹² In the literature it is also called MTP-131 or Bendavia.¹

SS-31 for sale here is supplied in 20 mg vials for laboratory research, and the SS-31 price shown is per vial. Its background and trial results are on What is SS-31?.

Research highlights

• Cardiolipin binding (lab and rat studies): SS-31 bound cardiolipin with high affinity, and the SS-31/cardiolipin complex blocked the peroxidase activity of cytochrome c, which oxidizes cardiolipin and damages mitochondria during ischemia.¹² In rats, pretreatment protected mitochondrial cristae during kidney ischemia.¹²
• Mitochondrial uptake (cell and isolated-mitochondria studies): SS peptides concentrate about 1,000-fold in the inner mitochondrial membrane, and their uptake into isolated mitochondria did not depend on membrane potential.¹¹¹
• Aged muscle (mice): in 27-month-old mice, muscle mitochondrial energy production was back to young levels one hour after a single injection.¹³ Young muscle showed no effect.¹³
• Barth syndrome (trial in 12 males): elamipretide did not beat placebo on walking distance or fatigue in a randomized crossover with 12-week treatment periods.³ Knee strength rose later, in the open-label extension, and FDA based its accelerated approval on that gain.³
• Mitochondrial myopathy (phase 3, 218 participants): 24 weeks of daily injections did not improve 6-minute walk distance or fatigue compared with placebo.¹⁴
• Heart failure (phase 2, 71 patients): 28 days of daily injections did not improve left ventricular end-systolic volume compared with placebo.¹⁵
• Dry macular degeneration (phase 2, 176 adults): 48 weeks of treatment missed both primary endpoints.¹⁶ A predefined imaging end point showed 43% slower loss of the photoreceptor ellipsoid zone (nominal P = 0.0034).¹⁶
• Mitochondria-targeted antioxidants, elamipretide included (systematic review, 19 trials, 884 people): no significant effect on blood sugar, cardiovascular or oxidative stress outcomes, except a gain in one artery-function measure whose evidence was rated very low certainty.¹⁷

Regulatory status

FDA granted Forzinity (elamipretide) injection accelerated approval on September 19, 2025, as the first Barth syndrome treatment, for patients weighing at least 30 kg.²⁴ Continued approval may depend on a confirmatory trial that verifies clinical benefit.³² Research-grade SS-31, including this vial, falls outside that approval.⁴

Anyone planning to buy SS-31 online should know FDA's position. Warning letters dated August 24, 2026 told four online sellers that their SS-31 products were unapproved new drugs.^10181920 Each letter said that despite "research use only" labeling, evidence from the seller's website showed the products were intended as drugs for human use.^10181920

Handling and storage

No regulator label or peer-reviewed study gives mixing steps for research-grade SS-31 powder. Peptides tend to absorb water from the air, so Bachem advises letting a cold container reach room temperature in a desiccator before opening it.²¹ One published fact about the molecule helps at the bench: elamipretide hydrochloride, the salt used in Forzinity, is freely soluble in water.³ The salt in this vial is not specified, so its solubility is unconfirmed. The reconstitution guide covers diluent choice, sterile technique and concentration math. The reconstitution calculator does the arithmetic, and the peptide storage guide covers storage of freeze-dried and mixed peptides.