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GHK-Cu

Also identified as Copper tripeptide-1, Prezatide copper, Gly-His-Lys copper

Copper-binding tripeptide

Sequence: Gly-His-Lys

Molecular weight
402.9
Molecular formula
C14H23CuN6O4
CAS
89030-95-5
Published studies reviewed
3

FOR RESEARCH USE ONLY. NOT FOR HUMAN OR VETERINARY USE. NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.

Compounds described on this site are supplied solely for laboratory research. They are not offered for human or veterinary use or for clinical use, and they are not intended to diagnose, mitigate, cure or prevent any disease.

GHK-Cu is the copper(II) complex of the tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine; the free tripeptide GHK, without its bound copper, is a separate chemical species from the complex this page describes. The page reviews two laboratory studies of the complex's chemistry, from 1980 and 1981, and one randomised human study. That single randomised study, published in 1992, tested a "tripeptide copper complex" cream without naming GHK-Cu, and it reported no difference from placebo.

At a glance

Also identified as
Copper tripeptide-1, Prezatide copper, Gly-His-Lys copper
Class
Copper-binding tripeptide
Target or mechanism
GHK is a tripeptide that forms a complex with copper(II); the chemistry recorded above is that of the complex, not of the free peptide.
Evidence types represented
in vitro, human
Published studies reviewed
3
Last reviewed
2026-09-24

Overview

GHK-Cu is the copper(II) complex of the tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine. The peptide itself is three amino acids long; what the literature studies, and what the name refers to, is the peptide together with the copper ion it binds.

The published human record collected here is small and it is not favourable. One randomised, evaluator-blinded trial, reported in 1992, compared a 0.4% tripeptide copper complex cream against a 1% silver sulfadiazine cream and against an inert placebo cream in 86 evaluable adults with venous stasis ulcers. Silver sulfadiazine reduced ulcer size compared with both of the others. Between the copper complex and the placebo, the report states there was no difference.

That trial is also the reason this page carries a note the others do not. Its published abstract identifies the material tested as "a biologically active tripeptide copper complex" and never names GHK-Cu. Whether the cream contained this compound is not established by the publication, so the record is attached to this page marked as unestablished rather than presented as a study of GHK-Cu.

Everything above is what the literature reports. It is not a statement about the research material PepGenex supplies, and no result here transfers to it.

Mechanism under investigation

GHK is a tripeptide that forms a complex with copper(II); the chemistry recorded above is that of the complex, not of the free peptide. None of the publications on this page characterises a molecular target.

Scope of the published work

Areas investigated
  • Venous stasis ulcer closure
Models used
  • Randomised human study

One randomised human study is recorded here, from 1992, and its copper-complex arm was not distinguishable from placebo. The publication does not establish that the material it tested was this compound. Nothing on this page is a statement about the research material PepGenex supplies.

Limitations

Evidence represented on this page: in vitro and human. No animal research is represented. The page reviews 3 published studies, and each figure is reported for the study that published it; results are not pooled across studies. 1 of these publications carries a note on whether it studied this exact material.

Common questions

What is GHK-Cu?

GHK-Cu is the copper(II) complex of the tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine.

How does GHK-Cu work, according to the published research?

GHK is a tripeptide that forms a complex with copper(II); the chemistry recorded above is that of the complex, not of the free peptide. None of the publications on this page characterises a molecular target.

  • In equilibrium dialysis at pH 7.5 and 6 °C, the tripeptide competed with albumin for copper(II): at equimolar concentrations of albumin and peptide, about 42% of the copper(II) was bound to the peptide. (Lau et al., 1981, PMID 7340824)
  • The tripeptide was reported to readily form complexes with copper(II) and to enhance uptake of the metal into cultured HTC4 hepatoma cells. The authors proposed, from its association with copper and its resemblance to the copper transport sites of albumin and alpha-fetoprotein (a histidyl residue adjacent to a basic residue), that GHL may act as a copper transport factor. (Pickart et al., 1980, PMID 7453802)

What has published research on GHK-Cu found, and what are its limits?

This page records 3 publications, reporting laboratory (in vitro) work in 2, human work in 1. Each is listed with its identifier under References.

Human studies represented: Bishop et al., 1992, PMID 1495150.

Evidence represented on this page: in vitro and human.

No animal research is represented.

The page reviews 3 published studies, and each figure is reported for the study that published it; results are not pooled across studies.

1 of these publications carries a note on whether it studied this exact material.

One randomised human study is recorded here, from 1992, and its copper-complex arm was not distinguishable from placebo. The publication does not establish that the material it tested was this compound. Nothing on this page is a statement about the research material PepGenex supplies.

Is GHK-Cu approved by the U.S. FDA?

This page cites no FDA approval record for GHK-Cu; PepGenex Science states a U.S. regulatory status only where a sourced record exists.

PepGenex research materials are not FDA approved and are not for human or veterinary use.

What risks have published studies of GHK-Cu reported?

The human studies recorded on this page include no adverse-event findings among the records published here. That is not evidence that GHK-Cu carries no risk.

Published research

Grouped by the kind of study. Select one to narrow what is shown below.

Laboratory (in vitro)(2)

Laboratory (in vitro)

The interaction of copper(II) and glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine, a growth-modulating tripeptide from plasma

Lau SJ, Sarkar B, The Biochemical Journal, 1981;199(3):649-656

published

  • Potentiometric analysis and visible-absorption spectrophotometry at 25 °C in 0.15 M NaCl indicated multiple copper(II)–glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine species across pH 3.5 to 10.6. The peptide's ε-amino group was reflected in enhanced stability constants compared with the complexes formed by glycyl-L-histidine or glycyl-L-histidylglycine.
  • In equilibrium dialysis at pH 7.5 and 6 °C, the tripeptide competed with albumin for copper(II): at equimolar concentrations of albumin and peptide, about 42% of the copper(II) was bound to the peptide.
View publication →
Laboratory (in vitro)

Growth-modulating plasma tripeptide may function by facilitating copper uptake into cells

Pickart L, Freedman JH, Loker WJ, et al., Nature, 1980;288(5792):715-717

published

  • During isolation of the plasma tripeptide GHL, the compound was reported to co-isolate through a number of steps with approximately equimolar copper and about one-fifth molar iron.
  • The tripeptide was reported to readily form complexes with copper(II) and to enhance uptake of the metal into cultured HTC4 hepatoma cells. The authors proposed, from its association with copper and its resemblance to the copper transport sites of albumin and alpha-fetoprotein (a histidyl residue adjacent to a basic residue), that GHL may act as a copper transport factor.
View publication →

Human study (phase not stated)(1)

Human study (phase not stated)n = 86

Bishop et al., 1992 (title withheld on this site; see the publication record)

Bishop JB, Phillips LG, Mustoe TA, et al., Journal of Vascular Surgery, 1992;16(2):251-257

published

Material identity not established. The published report identifies the material tested as a 0.4% cream of a biologically active tripeptide copper complex. It does not name GHK-Cu. Until the full report or a second source establishes which tripeptide copper complex was used, the figures below describe that material and not, on the strength of this publication, this compound.

Prospective, randomised, evaluator-blinded study with three arms — a 0.4% tripeptide copper complex cream, a 1% silver sulfadiazine cream, and an inert vehicle placebo cream — completed by 86 evaluable adults with venous stasis ulcers.

  • The report states that the 1% silver sulfadiazine cream statistically reduced ulcer size compared with both the tripeptide copper complex cream and the placebo cream, and that there was no difference between those latter two.
  • All ulcers carried comparable bacterial levels before the study began, which the report gives as its reason for concluding that silver sulfadiazine's antibacterial action was not what produced the difference it recorded.
What this study establishes

In this study, the copper complex arm was not distinguishable from the placebo arm on ulcer size. That is the finding. It is recorded here in the same place, in the same format and with the same prominence as a favourable finding would be, because a page that shows only what went well is not a record of the published work.

Limitations

Two limits sit on top of that. The publication does not establish that the cream contained this compound, so even the null finding is a finding about a material this page cannot confirm is the same one. And a single trial from 1992, in one condition, with one preparation applied to the skin, is the whole of the randomised human record collected here.

View publication →

References

Published studies reviewed (3)

  1. Bishop et al., 1992 (title withheld on this site; see the publication record) — Bishop JB, Phillips LG, Mustoe TA, et al., Journal of Vascular Surgery, 1992;16(2):251-257
    DOI 10.1067/mva.1992.37086 · PMID 1495150
  2. Growth-modulating plasma tripeptide may function by facilitating copper uptake into cells — Pickart L, Freedman JH, Loker WJ, et al., Nature, 1980;288(5792):715-717
    DOI 10.1038/288715a0 · PMID 7453802
  3. The interaction of copper(II) and glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine, a growth-modulating tripeptide from plasma — Lau SJ, Sarkar B, The Biochemical Journal, 1981;199(3):649-656
    DOI 10.1042/bj1990649 · PMID 7340824 · PMC1163421

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