SS-31 (Elamipretide)
Also known as Elamipretide, MTP-131, Bendavia, SS-31
SS-31 (elamipretide) is a synthetic aromatic-cationic tetrapeptide studied for its association with cardiolipin at the inner mitochondrial membrane. A research-use profile: class, chemistry, and handling.
SS-31 — also known by the development name elamipretide — belongs to a small class of peptides designed around a single idea: reach the mitochondrion. It is a tetrapeptide, only four residues, but those residues are chosen deliberately, alternating aromatic and cationic character, which is the property the 'Szeto-Schiller' peptide series is named for.
What sets SS-31 apart in the longevity and mitochondrial conversation is where it is reported to go. Rather than acting at the cell surface, it is described as accumulating at the inner mitochondrial membrane and associating with cardiolipin, a phospholipid found there. This page describes that structural story and the research contexts, and leaves outcomes and dosing out.
SS-31 is a short synthetic tetrapeptide built with non-standard residues — including a D-arginine and a dimethylated tyrosine — which give it an alternating aromatic-cationic character. That design is central to how it is described in the literature: as a cell-permeable peptide that concentrates at the inner mitochondrial membrane, where it is reported to associate with the phospholipid cardiolipin.
Designed to reach the mitochondrion
The defining feature of SS-31 is its aromatic-cationic structure. The peptide carries a net positive charge and aromatic rings in an alternating arrangement, a combination that the Szeto-Schiller peptide literature ties to cell permeability and to concentration within mitochondria — without requiring a membrane potential to get there.
Because it uses non-standard building blocks such as a D-arginine and a dimethylated tyrosine, its structure is described in chemistry notes rather than as a plain string of the twenty standard amino acids.
The cardiolipin association
SS-31 is discussed most distinctively in connection with cardiolipin, a phospholipid concentrated in the inner mitochondrial membrane and important to the organization of the electron-transport machinery. The peptide is reported in the literature to associate with cardiolipin at that membrane, which is why SS-31 anchors mitochondrial-research discussions specifically, rather than general cytoprotection.
The research contexts it appears in
In published work SS-31 appears in mitochondrial function and bioenergetics research and in aging research that focuses on mitochondrial decline. These name the areas scientists have studied it in — a research map, not a promise. It is frequently mentioned alongside the mitochondrial-derived peptides humanin and MOTS-c, which share the mitochondrial theme through a different mechanism.
These are research areas the compound is associated with in the literature — not medical claims or intended uses.
Handling & storage
Supplied lyophilized. Kept sealed and cold; in research settings it is reconstituted with bacteriostatic water only when a protocol requires it, then refrigerated. Handle per accepted laboratory practice.
Verify a certificate by lot →Common questions
Yes. SS-31 is the research designation and elamipretide is the assigned drug name for the same synthetic tetrapeptide; it has also appeared under names like MTP-131.
Its aromatic-cationic design is associated in the literature with concentrating at the inner mitochondrial membrane, where it is reported to associate with the phospholipid cardiolipin — hence the mitochondria-targeting description.
It is a tetrapeptide — four residues — but it is built with non-standard amino acids (such as a D-arginine and a dimethylated tyrosine), so it is described by its chemistry rather than a plain standard-residue string.
This monograph is a research-use reference. It describes composition and the contexts in which the compound has been studied — it is not medical advice, a description of effects, or a recommendation for use. Sold strictly for laboratory and research use; not for human or animal consumption.