The naturally occurring tripeptide behind decades of collagen and skin-repair research.
GHK-Cu is one of the few research peptides your own body already makes. It's a tripeptide — three amino acids, glycine, L-histidine, and L-lysine — bound to a copper ion. That copper is not incidental; it's central to nearly everything researchers study about this molecule.
GHK was first isolated from human plasma in the 1970s. Research has found that natural levels fall substantially with age — one reason it draws sustained interest in skin science, where the visible changes of aging track with declining repair signalling.
GHK binds copper ions with high affinity. Copper is a required cofactor for several enzymes involved in building and stabilising connective tissue, including lysyl oxidase, which helps cross-link collagen and elastin. The peptide is studied as a delivery mechanism — carrying copper to where those enzymatic processes occur.
Published work on GHK-Cu spans several areas: signalling for collagen synthesis, dermal remodelling and skin barrier research, antioxidant activity, and wound-repair pathways. It's among the most-researched peptides in skin science specifically, with literature stretching back decades.
Because its studied mechanisms concern structure and remodelling rather than acute repair, GHK-Cu is often examined alongside compounds studied for tissue repair and inflammation — the reasoning behind the KLOW stack, which pairs it with BPC-157, TB-500, and KPV.
Research context only. GHK-Cu is supplied for laboratory research use and is not a treatment or cosmetic product.
GHK-Cu is distinctive in appearance — the copper complex gives it a blue colour — but appearance is not verification. Confirm identity and purity with a batch-matched third-party COA. Learn how to read a COA →
View GHK-Cu research compound →