Compare prices and buy GHK-Cu from 45 research peptide vendors - also called suppliers or sources. Updated daily.
The copper(II) complex of the tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine (CAS 89030-95-5), formed when the naturally occurring GHK tripeptide binds copper. In cell-culture and preclinical studies it delivers copper to tissues, raises collagen and decorin synthesis and shifts matrix metalloproteinase activity. A topical GHK-Cu gel reached Phase III trials for diabetic foot ulcers, and its developer reported that it was no better than placebo. It is sold as a cosmetic ingredient under the name copper tripeptide-1 and is not an FDA-approved drug. The free GHK tripeptide is indexed as a separate product.
For research purposes only. Not medical advice.
GHK-Cu is a copper complex of the tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine (Gly-His-Lys), in which a copper(II) ion is bound in a stable 1:1 complex, the form catalogued by PubChem as copper tripeptide-1. Much of its reported activity is tied to that copper: it delivers Cu2+ to tissues, where copper serves as a cofactor for enzymes involved in connective-tissue remodeling, including lysyl oxidase (which crosslinks collagen), and for the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase.
In cell-culture and preclinical studies, GHK-Cu upregulates the synthesis of collagen, decorin, and glycosaminoglycans. It also modulates matrix metalloproteinases. In dermal fibroblast cultures it raised MMP-2 along with two of its inhibitors, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2, an effect copper ions reproduced and GHK alone did not (Siméon et al., Life Sciences, 2000). Loren Pickart's group, reanalyzing cell-line data from the Broad Institute's Connectivity Map, reported that GHK changes the expression of 31.2% of human genes by 50% or more. These are mechanistic findings from laboratory models, not demonstrated clinical outcomes.
GHK was first isolated in 1973 by Loren Pickart, who identified it as a factor in the plasma of young humans that prompted aged liver tissue to synthesize proteins characteristic of younger tissue. Plasma GHK concentrations have been reported to fall with age (from roughly 200 ng/mL around age 20 to about 80 ng/mL by age 60), which is part of why it drew interest as a tissue-remodeling molecule.
ProCyte took a topical GHK-Cu gel, Iamin Gel (PC1020), into trials for diabetic foot ulcers. A multicenter, randomized, evaluator-blinded, vehicle-controlled study reported a median 98.5% closure of plantar-ulcer area with the gel against 60.8% with vehicle (Mulder et al., Wound Repair and Regeneration, 1994). Two Phase III trials in 511 patients were completed in 1994, and that October the company announced that the gel had proved no better than placebo, as The Pharma Letter reported. FDA's device database lists a 510(k) clearance for an Iamin Gel Wound Dressing in February 1996 (K953853), and a device clearance is not a drug approval.
PeptideScouter indexes the free tripeptide and its copper complex as two separate rows, because they differ in both chemistry and commercial use. Free GHK (CAS 49557-75-7, molecular formula C14H24N6O4) is the uncomplexed peptide. GHK-Cu (CAS 89030-95-5) is the copper-bound complex, the form most research and skincare use actually refers to. Keeping them distinct preserves an accurate per-milligram price comparison, since whether a listing includes bound copper materially changes what is being sold.
GHK-Cu is not an FDA-approved drug. Its established real-world use is as a cosmetic ingredient, and FDA classes a product as a cosmetic or a drug by intended use, so the same ingredient in a product marketed to affect the structure or function of the body is regulated as a drug.
Its compounding status is split by route. In September 2023 the FDA placed GHK-Cu in Category 2 of its interim 503A bulk drug substances list, the designation for substances that may present significant safety risks, in an entry that covered injectable routes only. On April 15, 2026 the FDA announced that GHK-Cu was among twelve peptides removed from Category 2 after their nominations were withdrawn, effective seven days later. Removal is not authorization, and the FDA's table of withdrawn nominations still carries the original concern: immunogenicity risk from aggregation and peptide-related impurities, with limited human data. Non-injectable GHK-Cu, in Category 1 (substances still under evaluation), was removed on April 22, 2026 when its nominations were withdrawn, then added back after one of its nominators clarified on May 5 that it had meant to withdraw only the injectable nomination. The FDA says it intends to consult its Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee on GHK-Cu before the end of February 2027.
Research vendors sell it under names including "GHK-Cu," "Copper Peptide," and "Copper Tripeptide-1," and offer it for research use only, not for human consumption. A label reading "Tripeptide-1" without "copper" can mean free GHK, so the certificate of analysis is the check on copper content. PeptideScouter indexes it per milligram and verifies identity against its molecular formula and CAS (89030-95-5).
GHK is the free tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine (CAS 49557-75-7). GHK-Cu is the same peptide bound to a copper(II) ion in a 1:1 complex (CAS 89030-95-5, also called copper tripeptide-1). The copper-bound form is the one most research and skincare applications use. PeptideScouter lists them as separate rows because the copper content changes both the chemistry and the price.
In laboratory (cell-culture and preclinical) research, GHK-Cu delivers copper to tissues and has been associated with upregulated synthesis of collagen, decorin, and glycosaminoglycans and with modulation of matrix metalloproteinases. These are mechanistic findings, not demonstrated clinical outcomes. A topical GHK-Cu gel did complete Phase III trials in diabetic foot ulcers, and its developer, ProCyte, reported in 1994 that it was no better than placebo.
The GHK tripeptide was first isolated in 1973 by Loren Pickart, who identified it as a factor in young human plasma that prompted aged tissue to behave more like younger tissue. Plasma GHK levels have been reported to decline with age, which contributed to research interest in it as a tissue-remodeling molecule.
No. GHK-Cu is not an FDA-approved drug. Its established use is as a cosmetic ingredient, and FDA classes a product as a cosmetic or a drug by its intended use. The FDA removed injectable GHK-Cu from Category 2 of its interim 503A bulk drug substances list in April 2026 after the nomination was withdrawn, which is not an authorization. Non-injectable GHK-Cu remains in Category 1, under evaluation, and the FDA intends to consult its compounding advisory committee on GHK-Cu before the end of February 2027. Material sold by research vendors is for laboratory use only, not for human consumption.
GHK-Cu is sold by 45 research peptide vendors indexed on PeptideScouter, with 120 tracked listings compared per vendor in the table above. Pricing is normalized and refreshed daily.
44 of the 45 indexed vendors currently have GHK-Cu in stock. The comparison table marks out-of-stock listings, and stock state is refreshed daily.
Renova Peptides currently lists GHK-Cu at $0.14/mg, the lowest listed price across 45 tracked research peptide vendors. With current vendor discount codes applied, the lowest effective price is $0.12/mg.
Discount codes are issued per vendor rather than per peptide, so any code applies across that vendor's whole catalog. All 45 vendors listing GHK-Cu publish a PeptideScouter code, worth 5% to 50% off. Applied, the lowest effective price falls from $0.14/mg listed to $0.12/mg at Renova Peptides. Each vendor's code is shown beside its price in the table above.
GHK-Cu ranges from $0.14/mg to $2.47/mg across 120 listings from 45 research peptide vendors, normalized to USD per milligram and refreshed daily.
45 research peptide vendors currently list GHK-Cu on PeptideScouter, with 44 in stock right now. We track 120 listings across size and kit variants.
GHK-Cu's CAS Registry Number is 89030-95-5. It is also sold as GHKCU, GHK-Cu Copper Peptide.
