With the completion of the final step in the synthesis of endorphins, 10 ml of freshly synthesized endorphins were found in the test tube in Zheng Li's hand.

There are four types of endorphins—α, β, γ, and δ. Among them, β-endorphin has an activity 5-10 times that of morphine, while the other three types of endorphins have the same activity as morphine.

The first discovery of endorphins by humans dates back to 1975. This substance is secreted by the hypothalamus in vertebrates in conjunction with the pituitary gland.

It wasn't until 2019 that Zheng Li discovered the pathway for the artificial synthesis of endorphins. The endorphin that Zheng Li synthesized was β-endorphin, which is the most active endorphin.

Furthermore, in the paper, Zheng Li demonstrated through experiments that β-endorphin can achieve analgesic effects when taken topically.

Since endorphins are synthesized automatically by the pituitary gland, people previously only knew that they had analgesic effects, but did not know whether their analgesic effects could be achieved through in vitro injection.

Fun fact: The method for artificially synthesizing morphine was discovered in the 1710s when Zeldina found that morphine crystals could be separated by soaking opium in hot water and ammonia.

The molecular formula of morphine was derived in 1847, its structural formula was determined in 1925, and its absolute configuration was proven in 1968.

Even two hundred years later, humanity still hasn't been able to discover the synthetic pathway of endorphins with similar effects, let alone their structural formula and absolute configuration.

It was precisely because of the difficulty of this work that Zheng Li was able to publish a paper in Nature as a complete newcomer.

The reason for this difficulty is simple: morphine has the molecular formula C17H19NO3 and a molecular weight of only 285.3, while α-endorphin has a molecular weight of 1745.96 and β-endorphin has a molecular weight of 3400.

The molecular weight of β-endorphin is more than ten times that of morphine, but the difficulty of its synthesis does not increase linearly; it increases exponentially.

Following Zheng Li's publication of a paper on the artificial synthesis method of β-endorphin, Li Xulin, inspired by the synthetic pathway of β-endorphin, successfully developed an artificial synthesis method for α-endorphin and published his paper in a Cell sub-journal.

The methods for synthesizing other endorphins alone are enough to publish many papers in Cell sub-journals or even Cell main journal. This can be considered Zheng Li's legacy to the School of Biology at Jiangcheng University.

Zheng Li placed the newly synthesized endorphins into an ultra-low temperature freezer and then continued to synthesize another polymer compound.

Zheng Li used a double antibody immunoprecipitation of α-endorphin and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) antiserum to inject into pituitary tumor cells of mice.

Ordinary mice can be bought for a few dollars, while specially bred mice with cancer cost three or four hundred dollars. Mice with tumor cells in the pituitary gland, as Zheng Li requested, cost more than a thousand dollars.

Zheng Li continued to place the culture with 3H-labeled amino acids and then divided the immunoprecipitation medium sample into equal portions.

Immunoprecipitates labeled with [3H]phenylalanine prepared with endorphin antiserum were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis into three forms of endorphin with apparent molecular weights of 1, 2, and 3500. Immunoprecipitates prepared with ACTH antiserum contained four forms of ACTH with apparent molecular weights of 13,000, 2, 3, and 4500.

Sequential immunoprecipitation of the culture medium with ACTH antiserum and endorphin antiserum (or in reverse order) showed that both antiserums precipitated the same protein macromolecules.

Purification pools of different forms of ACTH and endorphins were prepared by immunoprecipitation and gel filtration.

Finally, lipoprotein trypsin peptide [βLPH(61-69)] is produced, which contains the opioid active methionine-enkephalin sequence.

Zheng Li looked at the freshly produced trypsin peptides and smiled with a hint of boredom. This kind of experiment was too childish for him.

Endorphins are amazing hormone compounds, and our understanding of them is still very basic.

The mage civilization's expertise in biology far surpasses the imagination of humans on Earth; they can conduct human experiments through cloning.

In the master's logic, humans transform nature rather than nature transforming humans. In Zheng Li's view, the environmental issues that Blue Star has been discussing for years are purely a false proposition.

Problems such as non-biodegradable plastics, global warming, viral outbreaks, and fossil fuel shortages can all be solved through technological means, rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Zheng Li couldn't understand some of the strange phenomena on Earth. Stone tools, pottery, bronze tools, and iron tools that humans discarded after use remained buried in the ground for hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years without decomposing. Modern creations made with cement would not naturally decompose if they were not smashed or damaged. Yet, they wanted plastic to decompose in just a few years, or even to stop using plastic altogether.

That said, injecting endorphins and lipoprotein trypsin peptides [βLPH(61-69)] together into the human body can reduce human addiction to and tolerance to the drug.

It is important to know that humans can develop drug dependence, or drug addiction, after long-term use of many drugs, such as stimulants, analgesics, hallucinogens, etc.

Previously, scientists have tried various methods to reduce addiction, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, oral topiramate treatment, and oral dextroamphetamine extended-release agents.

However, none of these methods were very effective.

This has a much larger market than endorphins, and Zheng Li plans to bring it out later.

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