Compare prices and buy Snap-8 from 19 research peptide vendors - also called suppliers or sources. Updated daily.
A synthetic octapeptide, Ac-Glu-Glu-Met-Gln-Arg-Arg-Ala-Asp-NH2 (INCI acetyl octapeptide-3, CAS 868844-74-0, C41H70N16O16S), developed by Lipotec as a two-residue extension of Argireline that copies residues 12 to 19 of the nerve-terminal protein SNAP-25. It is designed to compete with SNAP-25 in the SNARE complex that releases acetylcholine, a mechanism shown in peer-reviewed cell studies of Argireline. For Snap-8 itself, the supporting data are the manufacturer's own. Sold as a cosmetic ingredient, it has no FDA approval as a drug.
For research purposes only. Not medical advice.
Snap-8 is the trade name of acetyl octapeptide-3, a synthetic eight-residue cosmetic ingredient developed by the Spanish ingredient maker Lipotec, which also created Argireline. Lubrizol sells it to cosmetic formulators as SNAP-8 peptide solution C, a water-based solution. No FDA-approved drug contains it.
Its sequence, Ac-Glu-Glu-Met-Gln-Arg-Arg-Ala-Asp-NH2, carries an acetylated N-terminus and an amidated C-terminus and copies residues 12 to 19 of human SNAP-25, a protein of the nerve terminal. Argireline copies residues 12 to 17, so Snap-8 is the same peptide extended by the next two native residues, alanine and aspartic acid. The molecular formulas confirm it: C41H70N16O16S for Snap-8 and C34H60N14O12S for Argireline differ by exactly one alanine and one aspartic acid residue. FDA's substance registry lists Snap-8 under UNII 8K14HJF88S, with CAS 868844-74-0 as its primary registry number.
A nerve terminal releases acetylcholine when three SNARE proteins, SNAP-25 among them, assemble into a complex that fuses a vesicle with the cell membrane. Botulinum toxin type A blocks that release by cutting SNAP-25 near its C-terminus (Blasi, Nature, 1993). The SNAP-25 mimics were designed to interfere differently: a short copy of the protein's N-terminal region competes with the native protein as the complex assembles.
The peer-reviewed mechanism work was done on Argireline. Blanes-Mira and colleagues reported in 2002 that it inhibited neurotransmitter release in vitro with a potency similar to botulinum toxin A but much lower efficacy (International Journal of Cosmetic Science). For Snap-8, the manufacturer reported reduced glutamate release in vitro, data known from a review quoting its website (Errante, Frontiers in Chemistry, 2020).
Delivery is the open question for the whole class. A 2025 review of Argireline concluded that the hydrophilic peptide penetrates skin poorly and that the emulsions tested do not carry it deep enough to inhibit muscle contraction (International Journal of Molecular Sciences).
PeptideScouter found no peer-reviewed study testing Snap-8 on its own in people, searching PubMed and Europe PMC on October 20, 2026, and ClinicalTrials.gov lists none. The clinical reports that name it, published from 2020 to 2024, tested serums, creams or microneedle patches with several active ingredients. One, a Korean study in 24 adults, compared a patch containing Snap-8 and two other actives with a plain hyaluronic acid patch for 28 days (Shin, Annals of Dermatology, 2024), so its results cannot be attributed to the peptide.
Manufacturer figures vary with the date they were quoted:
A placebo-controlled test of the botulinum-like idea in a muscle disorder used the parent hexapeptide. In an NIH pilot in 24 people with blepharospasm, adding an Argireline cream to botulinum toxin injections did not meet its primary endpoint: symptom control lasted 3.7 months against 3.0 on placebo, short of statistical significance (Lungu, European Journal of Neurology, 2013).
How Snap-8 is regulated depends on what a product claims, because FDA classifies a product by its intended use. A cosmetic ingredient needs no FDA approval before sale, but a product marketed to affect the structure or any function of the body is a drug under the FD&C Act. No FDA-approved drug contains Snap-8. As of October 20, 2026 it appears in neither table of FDA's Category 2 bulk drug substances page, in neither the 503A nor the 503B nomination categories, in no FDA warning letter and in no ClinicalTrials.gov record. Argireline, under the alternative name acetyl hexapeptide-3, sits in Category 3 of FDA's 503B nominations, for substances nominated without adequate support.
The EU's CosIng inventory lists acetyl octapeptide-3 with two functions, humectant and skin conditioning, and the European Commission states that an inventory entry does not mean an ingredient is approved for cosmetic use.
Snap-8 is Argireline extended by two amino acids. Argireline, sold under the INCI name acetyl hexapeptide-8, copies residues 12 to 17 of the nerve-terminal protein SNAP-25, and Snap-8 copies residues 12 to 19, adding the alanine and aspartic acid that follow in the native sequence. Both carry an acetylated N-terminus and an amidated C-terminus, and both were developed by the Spanish ingredient maker Lipotec. Their molecular formulas, C41H70N16O16S for Snap-8 and C34H60N14O12S for Argireline, differ by exactly those two residues. The peer-reviewed mechanism studies were run on Argireline, and so was the placebo-controlled NIH trial in blepharospasm.
Not in any peer-reviewed study PeptideScouter could find in PubMed and Europe PMC as of October 20, 2026, and ClinicalTrials.gov lists no registered study of it. Clinical reports that name it, published from 2020 to 2024, tested serums, creams or microneedle patches containing several active ingredients, so their results cannot be attributed to Snap-8. The wrinkle-reduction figures in wide circulation come from the manufacturer's own testing as presented on its product page, and the figures quoted from the manufacturer's pages changed between 2020 and 2026. All of this testing measured skin appearance, and none of it concerned a disease.
It is sold as a cosmetic ingredient, and in the United States a cosmetic ingredient needs no FDA approval before sale. FDA decides whether a product is a cosmetic or a drug by its intended use, so a product marketed to affect the structure or any function of the body is regulated as a drug regardless of its ingredients. No FDA-approved drug contains Snap-8, and as of October 20, 2026 it appears in none of FDA's bulk drug substance nomination categories for compounding. In the EU, the CosIng inventory lists acetyl octapeptide-3 as a humectant and skin-conditioning ingredient, and the European Commission states that an inventory entry is not an approval for cosmetic use.
Snap-8, Ac-Glu-Glu-Met-Gln-Arg-Arg-Ala-Asp-NH2, has the formula C41H70N16O16S and an average molecular weight of about 1075.2, matching the sequence and terminal modifications in FDA's substance registry and the PubChem record filed under CAS 868844-74-0. A second PubChem record, the one the name SNAP-8 resolves to, draws the bond between the two glutamic acids with a carbon-carbon double bond in place of the carbonyl, which gives C42H72N16O15S and 1073.2. That incorrect weight has been copied into at least one published review. A certificate of analysis that reports a molecular weight near 1075 matches the correct structure.
PeptideScouter computes a price per milligram only for listings sold as vials and labelled in milligrams. Snap-8 sold as bulk raw powder is indexed with its price but sits outside every per-milligram comparison on the site. Vial listings of Snap-8 are compared with one another per milligram.
Snap-8 is sold by 19 research peptide vendors indexed on PeptideScouter, with 24 tracked listings compared per vendor in the table above. Pricing is normalized and refreshed daily.
18 of the 19 indexed vendors currently have Snap-8 in stock. The comparison table marks out-of-stock listings, and stock state is refreshed daily.
Flawless Compounds currently lists Snap-8 at $2.34/mg, the lowest listed price across 19 tracked research peptide vendors. With current vendor discount codes applied, the lowest effective price is $1.62/mg.
Discount codes are issued per vendor rather than per peptide, so any code applies across that vendor's whole catalog. All 19 vendors listing Snap-8 publish a PeptideScouter code, worth 5% to 20% off. Applied, the lowest effective price falls from $1.71/mg listed to $1.62/mg at Licensed Peptides. Each vendor's code is shown beside its price in the table above.
Snap-8 ranges from $1.71/mg to $4.00/mg across 24 listings from 19 research peptide vendors, normalized to USD per milligram and refreshed daily.
19 research peptide vendors currently list Snap-8 on PeptideScouter, with 18 in stock right now. We track 24 listings across size and kit variants.
Snap-8's CAS Registry Number is 868844-74-0.
