5-Amino-1MQ (5-Amino-1-Methylquinolinium)

5-Amino-1MQ is a small-molecule research compound, not a peptide. Chemically it is 5-amino-1-methylquinolinium: a quinoline ring system carrying a permanent positive charge at the ring nitrogen, which bears a methyl group, and a primary amine at the 5 position. Its cation has the formula C10H11N2+ and a molecular weight of 159.21 g/mol, and it is normally supplied as the iodide salt at 286.11 g/mol. The scaffold was designed to mimic the shape and charge of nicotinamide closely enough to occupy the substrate site of a single enzyme, which places it in the class of substrate-competitive enzyme inhibitors.

That enzyme is nicotinamide N-methyltransferase, abbreviated NNMT, a cytosolic methyltransferase that transfers a methyl group from S-adenosylmethionine to nicotinamide and produces 1-methylnicotinamide. NNMT therefore sits at the junction of two pathways: cellular methylation capacity, since it consumes S-adenosylmethionine, and the NAD+ salvage route, since it removes nicotinamide from the recycling pool. 5-Amino-1MQ is the small-molecule tool compound most often used in the published literature to inhibit that enzyme in cells and in rodent models. Nothing in its structure resembles a peptide, and it is stocked here as a laboratory reference chemical only.

Interest in NNMT as a target grew after Kraus and colleagues reported in Nature in 2014 that adipose-selective knockdown of the enzyme changed metabolic phenotype in mice fed a high-fat diet (PubMed 24717514). Because genetic knockdown is not a chemical tool, groups screened methylated heteroaromatic scaffolds for a selective, cell-permeable inhibitor, work that produced 5-Amino-1MQ.

Three primary reports anchor the compound. Neelakantan and colleagues published the structure-activity relationship for quinolinium, isoquinolinium, pyridinium and benzimidazolium NNMT inhibitors, identifying quinoliniums as a scaffold with low micromolar inhibition (PubMed 28548833). The same group then reported that methylquinolinium analogues bearing a primary amine crossed membranes in permeability assays, did not inhibit related methyltransferases or NAD+ salvage enzymes, and were investigated in diet-induced obese mice for their effect on body composition (PubMed 29155147). Kannt and colleagues reported an independent inhibitor series in a metabolic model (PubMed 29483571).

The evidence base is early and narrow. It consists of in vitro enzymology, adipocyte cell culture and rodent studies, with no human clinical literature on 5-Amino-1MQ. Reported effects come from a small number of laboratories, replication elsewhere is limited, and pharmacokinetic characterisation is incomplete.

The literature describes 5-Amino-1MQ as a substrate-competitive inhibitor: it is reported to occupy the nicotinamide-binding pocket of NNMT rather than the S-adenosylmethionine site, blocking methyl transfer. Two consequences follow in the models studied. Less nicotinamide is diverted to 1-methylnicotinamide, leaving more available to the NAD+ salvage enzyme NAMPT, and less S-adenosylmethionine is consumed (PubMed 29155147).

A distinction matters here, because 5-Amino-1MQ is frequently listed beside peptides it has nothing chemically in common with. It is not a growth-hormone fragment, not a receptor agonist and not a signalling ligand. It is an enzyme inhibitor with a defined molecular target, and the permanent positive charge that lets it imitate nicotinamide also makes its membrane behaviour an experimental variable (PubMed 28548833). NNMT inhibition has separately been studied in cancer cell metabolism, where the methylation sink is the focus (PubMed 23455543).

The methodology caveat is substantial. NNMT expression varies widely by tissue and model, so an inhibition result in adipocytes does not transfer to another cell type without direct measurement. Reported potency depends on assay format and on whether the readout is enzymatic or intracellular. Conditions are defined in the methodology of each cited study.

5-Amino-1MQ is stored at -20°C, shielded from light, and kept sealed until use. Quaternary ammonium salts are generally stable as dry solids under those conditions. No stability duration is asserted here; lot data appear on the Certificate of Analysis.

Capsule products are a solid unit-dose format and are kept in the original closed container at the temperature stated on the label rather than frozen. Vial material is protected from moisture and from repeated warming cycles. Conditions for material in solution are governed by the study protocol.

Reconstitution means returning a solid compound to solution. No reconstitution procedure appears on this page. Solvent choice, quantities and technique belong to the methodology of the study being reproduced and to the lot documentation.

As a general solubility class, 5-Amino-1MQ is a charged organic salt with useful aqueous solubility, and DMSO is the co-solvent typically reported for small molecules of this type. Solid material is hygroscopic, meaning it takes up atmospheric moisture, so containers stay closed while equilibrating to room temperature. The lot Certificate of Analysis records appearance and identity.

Identity for 5-Amino-1MQ is confirmed from documentation rather than assumed. Verified purity is documented per lot on the Certificate of Analysis, with identity established by chromatographic and mass spectrometric methods. Confirm whether a lot is documented as the cation or the iodide salt, because the two carry different formulas and weights.

House brand material from Novelle Bio and Catalyst Compounds is batch tested with a published Certificate of Analysis. Other brands carry the documentation supplied by their manufacturer. Related methylquinolinium analogues share close analytical behaviour, so the chromatographic data on the COA is the practical isomer check.

Compounds researchers commonly study alongside 5-Amino-1MQ:

• NAD+.
  The cofactor downstream of the pathway 5-Amino-1MQ acts on, since NNMT inhibition is reported to spare nicotinamide for salvage.
• BAM15.
  A small-molecule mitochondrial uncoupler studied in the same metabolic models by a different mechanism.
• SLU-PP-332 (entry forthcoming).
  A small-molecule ERR agonist studied for its effect on oxidative metabolism.
• AOD-9604.
  A peptide fragment studied in adipose metabolism models, often catalogued beside 5-Amino-1MQ despite the different chemical class.
• MOTS-c.
  A mitochondrial-derived peptide studied in overlapping pathways.

Kraus D, Yang Q, Kong D, et al. (2014). Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase knockdown protects against diet-induced obesity. Nature.
PubMed 24717514

Neelakantan H, Wang HY, Vance V, et al. (2017). Structure-Activity Relationship for Small Molecule Inhibitors of Nicotinamide N-Methyltransferase. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.
PubMed 28548833

Neelakantan H, Vance V, Wetzel MD, et al. (2018). Selective and membrane-permeable small molecule inhibitors of nicotinamide N-methyltransferase reverse high fat diet-induced obesity in mice. Biochemical Pharmacology.
PubMed 29155147

Kannt A, Rajagopal S, Kadnur SV, et al. (2018). A small molecule inhibitor of Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase for the treatment of metabolic disorders. Scientific Reports.
PubMed 29483571

Ulanovskaya OA, Zuhl AM, Cravatt BF, et al. (2013). NNMT promotes epigenetic remodeling in cancer by creating a metabolic methylation sink. Nature Chemical Biology.
PubMed 23455543

Peptides.com lists four 5-Amino-1MQ research products across four brands: two vials of dry solid and two capsule products in a solid unit-dose format. Vial specifications run from 10mg to 50mg per vial, and both capsule products are specified at 50mg. Each lot is batch tested with a published Certificate of Analysis, available through Lab Reports.

• Browse all 5-Amino-1MQ research products
• Verified Peptides 5-Amino-1MQ, 50mg vial
• Real Peptides 5-Amino-1MQ, 10mg to 50mg vial
• Catalyst Compounds 5-Amino-1MQ Capsules, 50mg
• Novelle Bio 5-Amino-1MQ Capsules, 50mg
• Collections: Research Vials and Capsules & Tablets. Documentation: COA and Lab Testing.

These products are sold for Research Use Only and are not intended for human consumption.