A cell-permeable nucleoside analog used to activate AMPK and probe metabolic stress signaling in experimental systems.
Pre-loaded with a typical AICAR vial. Change any value to match what you actually have.
What published research and laboratory protocols actually document for AICAR. Where a compound has no single microgram figure, we say so rather than inventing one.
| Reported amount | Frequency | Route | Where this figure comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 250 mg – 500 mg | often once daily in short preclinical protocols | intraperitoneal (preclinical) | Common rodent in vivo research exposures reported across metabolic studies Many papers use roughly 250-500 mg/kg in rodents. Absolute mcg fields here are illustrative for a 1 kg basis and must be rescaled to actual animal mass. |
| 100 mcg – 2 mg | continuous media exposure for hours to days | cell culture media | In vitro culture concentrations commonly cited Culture work often uses mid-micromolar to low-millimolar AICAR; toxicity and off-target nucleotide effects rise with concentration and duration. |
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AICAR (5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleoside; also called acadesine) is a cell-permeable precursor that is phosphorylated inside cells to ZMP, an AMP mimetic. It is one of the classic pharmacological tools for activating AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in metabolic, exercise-physiology, and cancer-biology experiments.
Researchers adopted AICAR because AMPK sits at a central energy-sensing node controlling fatty-acid oxidation, glucose uptake, mitochondrial biogenesis programs, and cell-growth checkpoints. At the same time, the literature candidly documents AMPK-independent effects and dose-dependent toxicity signals, including nucleotide-pool disruption and antiproliferative stress. Those safety and off-target findings are part of the scientific record and matter for experimental design.
Research-grade AICAR is Research Use Only. It is not an approved exercise drug or metabolic therapeutic in this RUO context and is not for human consumption. Ranges below are experimental-reference values only.
After cellular uptake, AICAR is converted to AICAR monophosphate (ZMP). ZMP mimics rising AMP and promotes AMPK activation through the canonical energy-sensing mechanism. Activated AMPK phosphorylates downstream metabolic targets that generally favor catabolic ATP-generating pathways and restrain anabolic processes. Importantly, ZMP also perturbs purine/pyrimidine nucleotide homeostasis at higher exposures, which can drive antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects independent of simple AMPK activation.
AMPK and energy-sensing biology · skeletal-muscle metabolism · exercise-mimetic experimental models · cancer cell proliferation and nucleotide metabolism · vascular and blood-pressure pharmacology models
Metabolic biochemists, muscle physiologists, and cancer-metabolism labs are the heaviest users. AICAR remains a reference AMPK probe even as more selective activators have emerged, partly because decades of comparative data already exist.
Store solid AICAR dry and cold per supplier specifications. Solutions should be prepared fresh or aliquoted and protected from repeated freeze-thaw according to lab SOP, because nucleoside solutions can degrade.
Experimental papers often compare AICAR with exercise, metformin, or newer AMPK activators rather than stacking it as a peptide companion. In metabolic research it may appear alongside endurance-training protocols or glucose-uptake assays. Designers should control for nucleotide-metabolism confounds when interpreting AMPK-specific claims.
The questions people actually search for, answered plainly.
Rodent metabolic studies frequently use about 250-500 mg/kg, while cell-culture work uses micromolar to millimolar media concentrations. Human performance use is not an approved or appropriate RUO framing.
No. AICAR is a nucleoside analog / AMPK-activating small molecule, not a peptide. It appears on peptide-education sites because adjacent research communities study it with metabolic peptides.
Peer-reviewed work reports dose-dependent disruption of nucleotide homeostasis, antiproliferative stress, and context-specific cytotoxicity. These findings are a standard part of responsible AICAR experimental design.
No. While it is a classic AMPK activator, literature shows AMPK-independent metabolic and nucleotide-pool effects, especially at higher concentrations.
RUO AICAR is laboratory material, not a dietary supplement or approved sports drug, and is not for human consumption.
Because AMPK activation and nucleotide-pool stress can suppress proliferation in some tumor-cell models, making AICAR a mechanistic probe in cancer metabolism.
Prepare to known molarity, verify solubility, protect from unnecessary freeze-thaw, and include vehicle controls. Concentration-response curves help separate AMPK effects from toxicity.
Primary literature on AICAR. Open access where available.
Every citation above was programmatically checked against the NCBI PubMed database. Titles shown are the official indexed titles, not paraphrases.
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