GHK-Cu — wholesale 10-vial kits

Research context

GHK is a tripeptide first described by Loren Pickart in 1973 as a factor in human serum that prolonged the survival of normal liver cells in culture, and later shown to act by facilitating copper uptake into cells (Pickart et al., Nature, 1980). It binds copper(II) with high affinity through the histidine imidazole, the glycine amino group and a backbone amide, forming the blue GHK-Cu complex that is the form most research uses. Under the cosmetic ingredient name copper tripeptide-1 it is also a familiar topical formulation ingredient.

Coordination chemistry. The structure of the complex has been determined in the solid state and in solution alongside the related plasma chelator DAHK. In the solid state [Cu(II)(GHK)] is dimeric; in solution it is monomeric, with three nitrogen donors (the terminal amine, an amide nitrogen and the imidazole) and a labile fourth equatorial position that can be occupied by a carboxylate or by an exogenous ligand such as glycine or histidine in ternary complexes. Cyclic voltammetry and ascorbate-oxidation measurements show the Cu(II) complex is redox-inert at moderate potentials, but unlike DAHK it can be reduced to Cu(I) at about −0.62 V, after which the copper ion is released, and copper exchange between GHK molecules is fast (Hureau et al., Chemistry – A European Journal, 2011). Those properties matter in practice: the labile fourth site and fast exchange are why buffer composition and competing chelators change what species is actually present in an assay.

Research on GHK-Cu spans three areas: connective-tissue remodeling (collagen and glycosaminoglycan synthesis by fibroblasts in culture and in rodent wound-closure models), copper transport and delivery to cells, and gene-expression studies. The gene-expression line has a specific origin: a Boston University group profiling lung tissue by regional emphysema severity identified 127 severity-associated genes, then queried the Connectivity Map for compounds that would reverse that signature and retrieved GHK. In follow-up experiments GHK reproduced TGF-β-induced expression patterns in human fibroblasts, organized the actin cytoskeleton, raised integrin β1 expression, and restored collagen-I contraction and remodeling by fibroblasts from diseased lungs (Campbell et al., Genome Medicine, 2012). Rodent models of acute lung injury and of ligament-graft repair have also been used to study its signaling.

As a laboratory tool, GHK-Cu is therefore used in three distinct assay families: fibroblast culture work read out by collagen and extracellular-matrix synthesis, contraction and gene expression; copper-coordination chemistry measured by spectroscopy, EPR and electrochemistry; and transcriptome-level profiling where the point of interest is the breadth of the expression shift rather than a single pathway. Because the copper is integral to the complex, assay buffers matter more than for an ordinary peptide.

U.S. regulatory status: GHK-Cu is not an FDA-approved drug; topical cosmetic use of copper tripeptide-1 is regulated separately as a cosmetic ingredient. For parenteral routes, GHK-Cu appears in FDA's compounding records among nominated bulk drug substances with identified potential significant safety risks, with the agency citing immunogenicity risk from aggregation and peptide-related impurities and limited human data. WholesalePeptide.us supplies it only for in-vitro, analytical and preclinical laboratory research.

Because the copper is part of the complex, the free-peptide mass of GHK and the mass of GHK-Cu differ; the COA states which species the LC-MS identity result refers to.

Lab teams frequently order GHK-Cu alongside BPC-157 and TB-500 for comparative studies in fibroblast and dermal models, and the three are also stocked together as the GLOW blend. Mixed-compound orders count toward the same wholesale tier, and every lot ships with a COA published before the lot leaves the warehouse.

Research areas

• Fibroblast collagen and ECM synthesis
• Copper(II) chelation and cellular copper delivery
• Metal-peptide coordination chemistry and redox behavior
• Gene-expression profiling (Connectivity Map studies)
• Inflammatory signaling in rodent lung-injury models
• Dermal tissue-remodeling models

U.S. regulatory status of the compound (as an active ingredient): Not FDA-approved. The material sold here is a research reference chemical, not a drug product.

Handling and storage

• Store lyophilized vials at −20 °C, sealed, protected from light and moisture.
• Let the vial reach room temperature before opening to limit condensation on the powder.
• The complex is blue; a color change in solution can indicate copper loss or contamination. Avoid strong chelators (EDTA) in the buffer unless the assay calls for them.
• Aliquot reconstituted material and freeze once; avoid repeated freeze–thaw.