An AMP mimetic that activates AMPK by imitating the energy-depleted state, without the cell actually being energy depleted.
About AICAR
AICAR is a nucleoside that cells take up and phosphorylate to ZMP, an analogue of AMP. AMPK — AMP-activated protein kinase — reads the AMP to ATP ratio as a measure of energy stress, and ZMP binds the same regulatory site, so the kinase is activated as though ATP were low.
That makes it a pharmacological shortcut to a physiological state, and the reason it became a standard tool: it decouples AMPK activation from the exercise or nutrient deprivation that would normally produce it.
What the research covers
Core work covers AMPK activation and its downstream targets: acetyl-CoA carboxylase phosphorylation, fatty acid oxidation, glucose uptake through GLUT4 translocation, and mTOR suppression. Mitochondrial biogenesis appears through PGC-1alpha as a longer-horizon endpoint.
The important caveat in the literature is that ZMP is not a perfect AMP mimetic and has AMPK-independent effects of its own, so attributing an observation to AMPK requires a control — typically a kinase-dead system or a selective inhibitor — rather than the compound alone. The metabolic research peptides hub sets out how this group divides.
AICAR specification
- Strengths available: 50mg, 100mg
- Presentation: vial
- Purity: ≥99% by HPLC, identity confirmed by mass spectrometry
- Released against: the Certificate of Analysis for its own batch
Handling AICAR
A nucleoside rather than a peptide, so the handling profile differs from most of the catalogue: more robust in the dry state, with solubility and uptake rather than aggregation as the variables that matter.
Uptake depends on nucleoside transporters, which means cell type affects the intracellular concentration reached from a given external concentration. That is a design consideration rather than a storage one.
Solvent options are under reconstitution supplies.
Further reading: the AICAR guide in the Amino Club research library covers the mechanism and the published work in more detail.
Certificates, delivery and terms
This batch ships with the Certificate of Analysis carrying the batch number printed on its label; how that is tested and released is set out on the lab testing page. Delivery, customs and returns are covered on the shipping page, common questions on the FAQ, and quantity pricing through bulk and wholesale. Supplied for in-vitro laboratory research only: not a medicine, not a supplement, not for human or veterinary use, and no dosing or administration guidance is provided — see the research use policy.
