Vendor listings often sell "CJC-1295 with DAC" next to "CJC-1295 without DAC" (also called Mod GRF 1-29) as if they were two strengths of one peptide. The published molecule named CJC-1295 is the albumin-binding analog. The no-DAC label is a marketplace name for a short GHRH analog without that maleimide.
This page is literature comparison for research. It is not medical advice, not a protocol, and not a ranking of anabolic effect.
Research notice: Compounds discussed for research use are not approved for human consumption, medical treatment, or diagnosis. Follow institutional and legal rules. Research-grade vials are not the clinical lots used in the papers below.
| Parameter | Literature CJC-1295 (DAC / albumin-binding) | Marketplace "no DAC" / Mod GRF 1-29 |
|---|---|---|
| What the name refers to | Tetrasubstituted hGRF(1-29) plus C-terminal maleimidopropionyl-lysine (Jette 2005) | Sold as the tetrasubstituted GHRH(1-29) analog without that albumin-binding group |
| Receptor | GHRH receptor | Same class (GHRH receptor) if the sequence is a GHRH(1-29) analog |
| Albumin covalent binding | Yes (Cys34 maleimide chemistry) | No, if the vial matches the no-DAC description |
| Human PK in cited papers | Half-life 5.8-8.1 days; GH up 2- to 10-fold for 6 days or more; IGF-I up 1.5- to 3-fold for 9-11 days (Teichman) | Not in the sources cited here |
| GH pulses after one week (human) | Preserved; trough GH up 7.5-fold (Ionescu) | Not tested in that paper |
| Native GHRH contrast | Long circulating GRF analog | Native GRH(1-44)-NH2 HPLC t1/2 6.8 min IV (Frohman) |
| FDA-approved product | No | No |
Both names, if they match their labels, are GHRH-receptor ligands, not ghrelin-receptor (GHSR) ligands. Cross-class stacking with ipamorelin or GHRP-2 is a separate experimental design question. See Ipamorelin vs CJC-1295 and GHRH analogs.
CJC-1295 as published. Jette et al. synthesized maleimido derivatives of human GRF(1-29), conjugated them to albumin, and showed activity on cultured rat anterior pituitary cells. In rats, the selected compound (CJC-1295) produced a 4-fold increase in GH area under the curve over 2 hours versus hGRF(1-29) and remained in plasma beyond 72 hours. Western blot showed a CJC-1295-immunoreactive species on the serum-albumin band from 15 minutes through beyond 24 hours. The authors defined CJC-1295 as a tetrasubstituted form of hGRF(1-29) with an added N-epsilon-3-maleimidopropionamide derivative of lysine at the C terminus.
That maleimide is the DAC. Removing it is not a minor salt change. It removes the covalent albumin tether that the PK papers measured.
Native GHRH is short-lived. Frohman, Downs, Williams et al. incubated GRH(1-44)-NH2 with human plasma. Intact peptide HPLC half-life in vitro was 17 minutes; total immunoreactivity lasted longer because a GRH(3-44)-NH2 fragment formed. After IV injection in healthy subjects, HPLC half-life of intact GRH(1-44)-NH2 was 6.8 minutes. The fragment had less than 10^-3 the biologic activity of intact GRH. That is the chemical problem DAC was built to solve. It is not a measured 30-60 minute half-life for Mod GRF 1-29.
Neither the DAC analog nor marketplace Mod GRF 1-29 is an FDA-approved therapeutic in the sources cited.
Teichman et al. ran randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind ascending-dose trials of subcutaneous CJC-1295 in healthy adults (ages 21-61; 28- and 49-day multiple-dose periods). Ionescu and Frohman sampled overnight GH in healthy men before and one week after CJC-1295. Alba et al. reported once-daily CJC-1295 in GHRH knockout mice.
Confirm identity with the supplier's analytical data. A vial labeled "CJC-1295" may or may not match the albumin-binding analog in Teichman 2006. Mass difference between a ~30-residue GRF analog and that analog plus maleimidopropionyl-lysine (then albumin-bound in plasma) is large. This page cannot certify a vial.
After a single injection, mean plasma GH rose 2- to 10-fold for 6 days or more, and mean IGF-I rose 1.5- to 3-fold for 9-11 days. Estimated half-life 5.8-8.1 days. After multiple doses, mean IGF-I stayed above baseline for up to 28 days. No serious adverse reactions were reported. The authors described it as safe and relatively well tolerated, particularly at the two lower dose levels they tested.
Those injected amounts are trial methods, not a use protocol.
Healthy men 20-40 years old were sampled every 20 minutes overnight, before and 1 week after CJC-1295. Pulsatility persisted. Pulse frequency and magnitude were unaltered. Basal (trough) GH increased 7.5-fold. Mean GH increased 46%. IGF-I increased 45%. The two dose levels they used did not differ significantly. IGF-I change did not correlate with GH-secretion parameters.
A claim that DAC "flattens GH to a continuous drip" is not what that overnight sampling showed. Trough rose. Pulses remained.
Once-daily CJC-1295 normalized growth in GHRH knockout mice. That is a GHRH-axis experiment, not a GHSR experiment, and not a human body-composition trial.
| Question | Literature CJC-1295 (DAC) | Marketplace no DAC / Mod GRF 1-29 |
|---|---|---|
| Defining chemical feature | Maleimide-lysine albumin tether on tetrasubstituted GRF(1-29) | Sold as tetrasubstituted GRF(1-29) without that tether |
| Human exposure duration in cited papers | Days | Not cited |
| Pulse architecture in cited human data | Overnight pulses kept; trough raised | Not cited |
| Native GHRH comparison | Designed to outlast DPP-IV cleavage of GRH | Still a short peptide unless a specific PK paper is shown |
| Approved drug | No | No |
If the experimental variable is multi-day GHRH-receptor occupancy with a documented human half-life, the literature molecule is the DAC analog. If the variable is a short GHRH analog without albumin conjugation, that is a different reagent, and the published Teichman/Ionescu numbers do not automatically apply to it.
Related: GHRH analogs, Ipamorelin vs CJC-1295.
No. In the papers cited here, CJC-1295 is a tetrasubstituted GHRH(1-29) analog with a C-terminal lysine maleimide that covalently binds albumin. Marketplace names such as "CJC-1295 no DAC" or "Mod GRF 1-29" refer to a related short GHRH analog without that albumin-binding group. They are not interchangeable catalog names for one FDA-approved product.
Drug affinity complex. Jette et al. identified CJC-1295 as a tetrasubstituted hGRF(1-29) with an added N-epsilon-3-maleimidopropionamide lysine at the C terminus. That maleimide reacts with Cys34 on serum albumin and extends circulating time.
The albumin-binding analog. Teichman et al. estimated 5.8 to 8.1 days after a single injection in healthy adults. A verified human half-life for marketplace "CJC-1295 no DAC" / Mod GRF 1-29 is not in the sources cited here. Native GRH(1-44)-NH2 disappeared with a 6.8-minute HPLC half-life after IV injection (Frohman et al.).
Ionescu and Frohman found pulsatility was preserved one week after the long-acting analog. Pulse frequency and magnitude were unaltered. Trough (basal) GH rose 7.5-fold and mean GH rose 46%, with IGF-I up 45%. That is not the same as a flat GH curve.
No. It compares published chemistry and healthy-volunteer PK/PD. It is not medical advice and does not specify how to use research vials.
Your brand here — Reach our audience of peptide researchers and boost your sales.