C₁₄H₂₃CuN₆O₄⁺
Glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine copper(II)
Also known as
GHK-Cu · Copper tripeptide-1 · Cu-GHK · GHK:Cu²⁺
- MW
- 402.93 g/mol (complex)
- CAS
- 89030-95-5
- PubChem
- 71587328
GHK-Cu: the copper tripeptide, read through the record
How a three-residue plasma fragment became the reference copper peptide for matrix and connective-tissue research
What it establishes
- GHK is endogenous: it circulates near 200 ng/mL in young plasma and falls by more than half by the seventh decade — the decline is what first drew researchers to it.
- The copper is structural, not optional. Activity across the literature tracks the GHK-Cu complex, never the bare tripeptide.
- The firmest data sit in connective tissue — collagen and glycosaminoglycan synthesis in fibroblast culture and connective-tissue accumulation in rodent wounds.

