The present invention refers to the chemical synthesis and potentiality
for application in several biochemical assays, of a potent agonist of the
.alpha.-melanocyte stimulating hormone (.alpha.-MSH), labeled with an
amino acid-type paramagnetic spin probe (Toac, or
2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl-amino-4-carboxylic acid), valuable
for use in electron spin resonance and fluorescence allowing
biochemical-clinical investigation of relevant physiological roles of
.alpha.-MSH in animal organism. The referred analogue of the present
invention, acetil-Toac.sup.0-(Nle.sup.4, DPhe.sup.7)-.alpha.-MSH, where
(Nle.sup.4, DPhe.sup.7)-.alpha.-MSH is nominated commercially as
Melanotan.TM. and although containing a non-natural compound in its
structure such as Toac, maintained entirely its potent agonist potency.
Its integral activity associated with the fact that it is naturally
fluorescent (due to the Trp residue of its sequence) give to this labeled
analogue a unique potential for a great variety of investigations
regarding relevant physiological roles already known of this
neuroimmuno-modulator.