Nasal sprays

Which peptides come as nasal sprays, how little of a nasal dose gets into the blood, how to use a spray, the dose in each spray, and the risks.

Approved nasal peptide drugs

These peptide drugs are approved in the US for use in the nose. Each comes in a pump or device made to deliver a set dose.

Drug	Used for	Each dose	How it compares with an injection
Desmopressin	Central diabetes insipidus; a stronger spray (Stimate) treats some bleeding disorders	10 mcg in 0.1 mL (Stimate: 150 mcg)	3.3 to 4.1% of a dose reaches the blood (Stimate’s label). Switching from the injection, the label gives 10 times the injected dose.
Calcitonin salmon	Osteoporosis after menopause, when other treatments don’t suit	200 units in 0.09 mL	3 to 5% of what an injection into muscle delivers
Nafarelin (Synarel)	Endometriosis	200 mcg in about 0.1 mL	Peaks in the blood 10 to 40 minutes after a spray; a stuffy nose didn’t change how much got in
Glucagon (Baqsimi)	Severe low blood sugar in diabetes	3 mg of powder, one dose	Tested against 1 mg injected into muscle; peaks in about 15 minutes, and a cold or a decongestant didn’t change it

An oxytocin nasal spray is licensed in some European countries; the US product was discontinued. Semax, Selank and DSIP are registered in Russia as nasal drops (see compound by compound).

How much gets in

The lining of the nose is thin and has a rich blood supply, but peptides are large molecules and most of a nasal dose never crosses it. Some is swept to the throat and swallowed, where it’s digested. The approved nasal peptides make up for this with bigger doses than their injections.

Sermorelin: TrialIn studies in the 1990s, only 3 to 5% of a nasal dose was absorbed.
Hexarelin: TrialA nasal dose was about 5% as potent as the same dose given into a vein.
Semax and Selank: LabelTheir Russian labels state far higher figures: 60 to 70% and 92.8% absorbed.
Other research peptides: No dataFor almost all of them, no one has measured how much of a nasal dose reaches the blood.

So a nasal dose can’t be swapped one-for-one with an injected dose of the same peptide. How much gets in also depends on technique, a blocked or irritated nose, and sneezing right after a dose, which Synarel’s label says may reduce absorption.

Using a spray

The steps below come from the labels of the approved sprays.

Prime a new pump. Point it away from your face and press until a full spray comes out; desmopressin’s label says 4 presses, and 1 more if the pump hasn’t been used for a week. Don’t prime before every dose, which wastes medicine.
Spray. Keep your head upright, put the tip in one nostril and press the pump firmly once. You don’t need to sniff hard or breathe in.
Afterward. Try not to sneeze right after a dose. If you need a decongestant spray, Synarel’s label says to wait at least 2 hours after a dose.
Alternate nostrils from day to day, as calcitonin’s label directs.
Clean and store. Wipe the tip with a clean, damp cloth once or twice a week, dry it, cap it and keep the bottle upright.
Count your sprays. Stop at the number on the label: after that, a spray may not hold a full dose, even with liquid left in the bottle.

Dose per spray

The dose in each spray is the strength of the liquid times the volume one press delivers. Approved pumps deliver 0.09 to 0.1 mL per press; most pumps spray 0.05 to 0.14 mL, so check yours.

Peptide in the bottle

Liquid in the bottle

Each spray

Each spray holds about100 mcgThe liquid is 1 mg/mL; a full bottle gives about 100 sprays.

This is the amount sprayed, not the amount absorbed, which is a small and usually unknown share of it. A few sprays go to priming.

Risks

The nose itself. In calcitonin’s trials, 12% had a runny or stuffy nose, 4% nosebleeds and 2% sinusitis, and its label warns of severe ulcers and advises nose exams. Desmopressin’s label says long-term use can scar or swell the lining, which makes absorption unreliable.
Contamination. Approved multi-dose sprays contain a preservative (benzalkonium chloride in the desmopressin and calcitonin sprays) and have a limit once opened: an opened calcitonin bottle lasts 30 or 35 days at room temperature, by size. A spray mixed from a research vial has no tested preservative, sterility or shelf life. See bacteriostatic water.
Water and sodium. Desmopressin makes the body hold on to water; drinking too much while taking it can cause dangerously low sodium, with headache, nausea, confusion and seizures.
Cancer signal. Calcitonin’s label reports more cancers with calcitonin than placebo, 4.1% vs 2.9%, in a pooled analysis of 21 trials.
Tanning sprays. In 2011 the UK medicines regulator tested a “tanning nasal spray” sold online and found Melanotan 2, which has never been tested in people as a nasal spray. FDA has also found compounded nasal sprays of thymosin alpha-1 and of BPC-157 combinations for sale.

Heavy nosebleeds, or headache with confusion after a desmopressin dose, need medical care. Other warning signs: Is something wrong?

Compound by compound

Each compound’s answer to “Does it come in other forms, like a nasal spray?”, grouped by what’s known about the nose. The other 43 compounds have no nasal form reported in studies or on a label; all 68 are on pills, nasal sprays and creams.

Registered as a nasal product somewhere 4

Sold under a medicines license, in Russia or Europe, as nasal drops or a spray. None is approved in the US.

SemaxApproved drug: LabelRegistered only as nasal drops; the labels say 60–70% is absorbed, and the 0.1% label also allows nasal electrophoresis (a mild current) for optic nerve disease. FDA found no human data for injection.
SelankApproved drug: LabelThe registered product is nasal drops, used in the published trials; the label says 92.8% of a nasal dose is absorbed. Injection, common with research vials, is untested in people, as are oral forms.
DSIPApproved drug: LabelDeltaran is nasal: a 0.3 mg ampule dissolved in 0.5 mL of water. Most human studies gave it by vein. Injection under the skin, the usual research-vial route, has no human data, per FDA.
OxytocinApproved drug: LabelApproved forms go by IV drip or into muscle. US nasal sprays are research-only (an older nasal product is discontinued); some European countries have licensed one. Swallowed oxytocin is digested.

Tested in the nose in people, but not sold that way 9

Studies gave a nasal form to people, but none is sold as a nasal product.

SermorelinHuman studies: TrialInjected: nightly under the skin as treatment, or once into a vein as a diagnostic test. Tested as a nasal form in the 1990s: only 3–5% was absorbed, and in 8 children the effect faded.
HexarelinHuman studies: TrialUsually injected under the skin outside research. Studies also gave it by IV, into the nose (about 5% as potent as IV) and by mouth (0.3%); children used a nasal spray for months.
GHRP-6Human studies: TrialUsually injected under the skin outside research. Studies gave it by IV, by mouth (about 0.3% as potent as IV), into the nose and under the tongue; the nasal dose raised GH overnight.
GHRP-2Approved drug: TrialUsually injected under the skin outside medical use; the approved form is one IV test dose. Trials also used a nasal spray (no growth benefit over 48 weeks), doses by mouth and continuous infusions.
PT-141Approved drug: TrialOnly the under-the-skin autoinjector is approved. Nasal sprays were tested in early trials in men with erection problems and women with arousal problems, and in label safety studies, but none is marketed.
IpamorelinHuman studies: TrialThe human studies gave it by IV. Clinics sell injections under the skin, nasal sprays and oral troches, none tested for effect; one volunteer took a nasal dose in a drug-testing study.
GlutathioneApproved drug: TrialApproved as muscle or slow IV injections (Italy). Oral capsules raised blood levels in a 6-month trial; a nasal spray and an inhaled form were tested without clear benefit. Creams have small skin studies.
GonadorelinApproved drug: LabelApproved forms: one injection under the skin or into a vein (UK test) or pulses by pump (France). Nasal sprays were tested for undescended testes in boys, with small or no benefit.
VIPApproved drug: LabelLicensed only as an injection into the penis, with phentolamine. IV and inhaled VIP were tested in lung diseases; nasal spray only in one 20-person CIRS study. No oral form has been tested in people.

Used in the nose with no human data 12

Sold or used as nasal sprays or drops, or tested in the nose only in animals. No study has measured what a nasal dose does in a person.

BPC-157Preclinical: TrialUsually injected under the skin, a route without published human results; human reports used enemas, knee and bladder injections and IV drips. Oral and cream forms have published data only in rodents; nasal sprays, none.
TB-500Preclinical: AnimalSold for injection under the skin or into muscle, never tested in people. Animals got it by injection (horses, rats) or an experimental eye gel. FDA found BPC-157 combination nasal sprays for sale.
Thymosin Alpha-1Approved drug: LabelInjected under the skin, or into a muscle per Italy’s label. FDA found compounded nasal sprays on sale, but no human study of nasal or oral forms; oral was tested only in mice.
KPVPreclinical: AnimalThe nomination FDA reviewed was a 0.1% cream or gel. FDA also found injections, capsules and nasal sprays for sale. None has been tested in a person; on cadaver skin it barely penetrated.
NAD+Human studies: TrialGiven under the skin, into muscle or by IV drip; only one IV study is published. Oral NADH and precursors (NR, NMN) are separate products; nasal sprays and creams have no published human trials.
AdamaxPreclinical: No studySold for injection under the skin or as a nasal spray; neither route has been tested. Semax, its parent, is registered in Russia only as nasal drops.
PE-22-28Preclinical: AnimalInjected under the skin or used as a nasal spray by users; neither route has been tested in people. Mice got it by injection into the abdomen or by stomach tube.
PinealonPreclinical: TrialHuman reports used capsules by mouth (100 mcg twice daily in one). Injection under the skin, the usual community route, and nasal drops have no published human data.
Melanotan 2Human studies: TrialEvery human study injected it under the skin. Nasal or oral melanotan II has never been tested; bremelanotide was given as a 20 mg nasal spray in an alcohol study.
AOD9604Human studies: TrialTrials used IV infusions and daily capsules or tablets; FDA found no human data for injection under the skin, today’s usual route, or for creams. Nasal sprays and under-the-tongue forms have no human data either.
HGH Fragment 176-191Preclinical: No studySold for injection under the skin, but no study has given this peptide to a person by any route. Nasal and oral forms are untested; AOD9604’s trials used IV infusions and pills.
CerebrolysinApproved drug: LabelLicensed for IV use or injection into a muscle. One small study gave a single oral dose; nasal use was tested only in mice. No study has tested injection under the skin.

Sources: desmopressin acetate nasal spray and Stimate prescribing information (2026); calcitonin salmon nasal spray prescribing information (2026); Synarel prescribing information (2026); Baqsimi prescribing information (2025); MHRA warning on a tanning nasal spray (August 2011); each compound’s answer from its own page, where its sources are listed.

By Vial Guide editorsLast reviewed October 7, 2026

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