GHK-Cu Peptide Pen (Copper Tripeptide) | 100mg

GHK-Cu is glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine complexed with copper(II), supplied here pre-mixed at 100 mg in a 3 ml stabilised cartridge at a stated 33.33 mg/ml. No lyophilised powder and no reconstitution step.

What GHK-Cu is

GHK is a tripeptide — three residues, Gly-His-Lys — first isolated from human plasma. On its own it is a small and unremarkable molecule at 340.4 g/mol. What makes it interesting is the histidine and lysine side chains, which together form a binding site with high affinity for copper(II) ions.

The distinction that matters is between GHK and GHK-Cu. The first is the free tripeptide, CAS 49557-75-7. The second is the copper complex, CAS 89030-95-5, and it is a chemically distinct entity of roughly 403 g/mol. Product listings use the two names interchangeably; they are not interchangeable. This cartridge contains the copper complex.

That framing also explains why GHK-Cu is not simply a copper source. Copper salts deliver the ion without a carrier; GHK-Cu delivers it bound to a peptide ligand, which changes how the copper behaves in a biological medium. In research terms it is a copper-delivery vehicle, and its behaviour differs from copper sulfate or copper chloride at matched copper content.

Copper peptide pen: the same thing under a shorter name

Most people searching for this product type “copper peptide” rather than the full compound name, and the two mean the same thing. A copper peptide is a pre-filled GHK-Cu cartridge in a dial-dosing pen, as opposed to lyophilised powder in a vial.

This pen holds 100 mg in a sealed 3 ml cartridge, at 33.33 mg/ml. Those are device figures — what the mechanism displaces, not what should be dispensed.

Applications in research

• Copper delivery and homeostasis. Studies of intracellular copper handling in which the ligand-bound and free-ion forms are compared at equivalent copper concentration.
• Gene expression profiling. The most substantial body of published work characterises broad transcriptional changes associated with GHK exposure in cultured human cells, with the expressed gene complement as the readout.
• Extracellular matrix protein synthesis. Collagen and glycosaminoglycan synthesis in fibroblast culture, one of the earliest and most-repeated assays for this peptide.
• Antioxidant and metal-chelation chemistry. Work on the complex as a redox-active species, distinct from its role as a signalling peptide.

The literature on GHK-Cu is unusually concentrated: a large share of it comes from one research group across three decades. It is genuine, extensive published work with a narrow authorship base, and that is a fair characterisation of the evidence. It concerns the molecule rather than this material.

Legal status in the UK

GHK-Cu is not a licensed medicine in the United Kingdom and holds no MHRA marketing authorisation. It appears widely as a cosmetic ingredient, and a cosmetic listing is not a medicinal authorisation.

It is not a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, so buying and possessing it for laboratory research is lawful. Supplying it for human or veterinary consumption is not, and would engage the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. Every cartridge is labelled and supplied strictly for in-vitro research use.

What you are actually comparing between listings

• Total mass. This cartridge holds 100 mg. GHK-Cu is commonly sold in 50 mg vials, so one unit here carries double a typical listing.
• Which entity you are buying. Check whether a listing is the free tripeptide or the copper complex. They differ in CAS number, molecular weight and behaviour, and a listing naming "GHK" is not necessarily selling GHK-Cu.
• Format. Pre-mixed solution at a stated 33.33 mg/ml against lyophilised powder requiring reconstitution and a concentration calculation.
• Cost per milligram. At £125 for 100 mg this works out at £1.25 per mg.

GHK-Cu is also the largest component by mass of two blends: Glow Peptide Pen 140mg and KLOW Peptide Pen 160mg, both of which carry 100 mg of it alongside other peptides.

Handling and storage

Store at 2–8 °C and protect from light. Keep the cartridge sealed until use, then upright, and observe aseptic technique. Do not freeze. Copper complexes are redox-active, so light exposure and contact with reducing agents both matter more here than for an uncomplexed peptide; keep the cartridge sealed and dark between uses. Orders placed before 2pm are dispatched the same working day, cold-packed, in plain outer packaging.

References

Literature on the molecule. These describe GHK and GHK-Cu as compounds and none is a claim about this product.

1. Pickart L, Margolina A. Regenerative and Protective Actions of the GHK-Cu Peptide in the Light of the New Gene Data. Int J Mol Sci. 2018;19(7):1987. PMID 29986520.
2. Pickart L, Vasquez-Soltero JM, Margolina A. GHK Peptide as a Natural Modulator of Multiple Cellular Pathways in Skin Regeneration. Biomed Res Int. 2015;2015:648108. PMID 26236730.
3. Pickart L. The human tri-peptide GHK and tissue remodeling. J Biomater Sci Polym Ed. 2008;19(8):969–88. PMID 18644225.
4. Pickart L, Vasquez-Soltero JM, Margolina A. The human tripeptide GHK-Cu in prevention of oxidative stress and degenerative conditions of aging. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2012;2012:324832. PMID 22666519.

Research use only

This material is supplied strictly for in-vitro research and analytical purposes. It is not for human or veterinary administration and not for any diagnostic or therapeutic application. It holds no MHRA marketing authorisation. Confirm the current regulatory position before drafting institutional documentation, and clear the material through your own ethics, COSHH and biosafety processes before ordering.