GHK-Cu

GHK-Cu is a synthetic copper(II) coordination complex of the tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine (GHK), first isolated and characterized by Loren Pickart at the University of California San Francisco in the early 1970s. The complex forms through coordination of the copper(II) ion with three nitrogen donors — the N-terminal amine, the deprotonated amide nitrogen between glycine and histidine, and the histidine imidazole ring — creating a square planar coordination geometry characterized in published structural studies. GHK-Cu has been identified in human plasma samples in published analytical laboratory studies and is catalogued as a naturally declining plasma constituent across age groups in multiple published biochemical analyses. Investigated in preclinical and in vitro laboratory models examining collagen synthesis pathway signaling, extracellular matrix pathway research, angiogenic pathway modulation, superoxide dismutase pathway activity, dermal signaling pathway models, cosmetic research pathway models, and TGF-β pathway signaling research. One of the most extensively published copper peptide complexes in the biochemistry and dermatology research literature, with published studies examining copper-peptide coordination chemistry and downstream pathway signaling across multiple tissue model systems. For Research Use Only — Not for Human or Veterinary Use.