Description
GHK-Cu is the copper-bound form of the glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine tripeptide. The peptide alone is a small, neutral molecule, but once a copper(II) ion slots into the coordination site formed by the histidine imidazole, the alpha-amino group of glycine and the deprotonated peptide nitrogen, the whole complex turns a distinctive deep blue. That colour is one of the easiest visual cues that you are looking at intact GHK-Cu rather than the uncomplexed peptide or a degraded batch.
A peptide first pulled out of human plasma
Loren Pickart isolated GHK from human serum in 1973 while investigating why old liver tissue behaved more like young liver tissue when exposed to plasma from younger donors. The copper-binding behaviour came later, and turned a curious albumin-fraction tripeptide into one of the most studied small peptides in dermal and wound-repair literature. If you have read papers on decorin upregulation, copper-dependent lysyl oxidase activity or fibroblast collagen output, the GHK-Cu complex has almost certainly come up.
What is in the vial
- Sequence: Gly-His-Lys complexed with Cu(II)
- Form: lyophilised powder, blue tint visible at the base of the vial
- Vial size: 50mg, sealed under inert atmosphere
- Reconstitution: bacteriostatic or sterile water, gentle swirl rather than shake to avoid foam-induced denaturation
- Storage: lyophilised vial keeps cool and dark short term, freeze at minus 20 C for longer holds, reconstituted vial in the fridge and used promptly
How we keep the copper complex honest
Counterfeit copper peptide is a known problem. A grey or off-white powder that turns only faintly blue on reconstitution usually means the copper loading is incomplete or the peptide has partly oxidised. Every batch we list runs through HPLC for purity and mass spectrometry for identity confirmation at an independent UK lab before it goes on the shelf. The CoA is available on request, and if a vial you receive fails an independent test you commission, we refund it. No grey-market argument, no restocking trick.
Sourcing and shipping
Our GHK-Cu is synthesised inside the UK and EU. We do not buy unverified Chinese bulk and relabel it, which is the route most of the cheaper listings online take. Around nine in ten UK orders leave us and land with the buyer in under forty-eight hours, tracked. If you need ten vials or more for a longer protocol or a multi-site comparison, the support team can quote a bulk price that is not on the public listing, and a real human on UK hours will answer the live chat while you sort it out.
Sold strictly for in vitro laboratory research. Not for human or veterinary use. UK 18+.
