RAD-150

Chemical identity

RAD-150 is the benzoate ester of the testolone scaffold, marketed under the developmental designation TLB-150. The esterification is the entire modification: the parent pharmacophore is unchanged, and the benzoate group is intended to be cleaved by esterases after absorption.

This makes RAD-150 a prodrug in design terms rather than a novel receptor ligand. Any receptor-binding assay run on the intact ester is measuring the wrong species — the active molecule is the hydrolysis product.

Investigators should be aware that public characterisation of this compound is unusually poor even by the standards of this category. It appeared in the consumer market with minimal published chemistry behind it.

Mechanism in research models

The intended mechanism is esterase-mediated hydrolysis releasing the parent SARM, which then binds the androgen receptor through the standard genomic pathway. Whether that hydrolysis occurs at a useful rate in any given model system is an open question and should be measured rather than assumed.

The parent compound is a well-characterised androgen receptor agonist with published preclinical work in muscle and bone and reported central nervous system effects. Extrapolating that literature to the ester requires establishing the conversion first.

For in-vitro work, the practical consequence is significant: cell culture systems vary widely in esterase activity, and a compound that converts efficiently in liver microsomes may remain largely intact in an immortalised cell line.

What the literature establishes

There is essentially no peer-reviewed literature on RAD-150 as a distinct chemical entity. What exists is literature on the parent compound plus marketing material for the ester.

This is the weakest evidence base of any compound on this site, and the page is included for completeness rather than because the compound is well understood. Investigators evaluating it should plan characterisation work, not application work.

Prohibited in sport under WADA S1.2 as an androgen receptor modulator. Anti-doping laboratories screen for the parent compound and its metabolites, which the ester would produce.

Handling, storage and solubility

Material of this type is typically held sealed at −20 °C, protected from light and moisture; the validated condition is the one on the lot documentation. Esters are susceptible to hydrolysis, so moisture exclusion matters more here than for the non-esterified SARMs on this site.

Insoluble in water; soluble in DMSO and ethanol. Aqueous buffers will drive slow hydrolysis of the ester — prepare working dilutions immediately before use and do not store aqueous solutions.

If a batch arrives as an oil or a partially melted solid rather than a free-flowing powder, treat that as a specification deviation and query it before use.

Analytical documentation

Require HPLC purity, NMR and mass confirmation, and specifically ask what fraction of the material is free parent compound rather than intact ester. Partial hydrolysis during manufacture or storage is the most likely quality failure for this molecule.

Given the near-absence of published characterisation, request the supplier's own method details. A purity figure means little without knowing whether the method resolves the ester from its hydrolysis product.

References and authoritative sources

Chemical identity, regulatory status and anti-doping classification should be confirmed against primary sources rather than against this page. The records below are the ones to check first.

1. PubChem compound record (US National Library of Medicine)
2. PubMed indexed literature

These are database and regulatory sources. Citations to specific primary papers are being added to this page as part of ongoing scientific review; until they appear, treat the mechanism and literature sections above as a summary to verify rather than a citation of record.