GHK-Cu 50mg

The Gly-His-Lys tripeptide complexed with copper(II), one of the longest-characterised compounds in short-peptide chemistry. It is used in in-vitro work on peptide-metal complexes. 50 mg vial, characteristic bluish lyophilized powder, ≥99% HPLC purity verified by third-party analysis. For laboratory research use only.

Research areas

• Peptide-metal complexes
• In-vitro cell models
• Stability of coordination complexes

Technical data

GHK or GHK-Cu: copper is not an additive

This is the costliest confusion on this reference. Two products circulate under almost identical names: GHK, the bare Gly-His-Lys tripeptide, and GHK-Cu, the same tripeptide complexed with a copper(II) ion. They are not interchangeable, and the price of a vial of one does not compare with the other.

The chemistry explains it. The tripeptide's N-terminal motif — terminal glycine, deprotonated peptide nitrogen and histidine imidazole — forms a coordination site that chelates copper(II) with high affinity. The complex is therefore a distinct chemical entity, not a mixture.

Two checks settle it, neither requiring sophisticated instruments:

The colour is not decorative: it comes from the d-electron transitions of coordinated copper(II). A powder labelled GHK-Cu that arrives white, or yields a colourless solution, raises a question for the supplier. Likewise, a mass spectrum reporting only a peak near 340 Da describes the free peptide, not the complex.

Why choose NEXUS GHK-Cu

• Third-party verified purity: every batch is HPLC-tested by an independent laboratory and the certificate of analysis (COA) can be checked before ordering.
• Complex, not bare ligand: the powder is blue and so is the resulting solution — the check is immediate, on arrival.
• Shipped from France: dispatched within 24 h on working days, delivered in 2–5 working days to France and 8 European countries. Free shipping from €120.
• Consistent quality: same supplier, same controls, same packaging from one batch to the next.
• Verified reviews: our customers leave their feedback on Trustpilot; we do not edit it.

Reconstitution and handling

The lyophilisate is reconstituted with bacteriostatic water, which keeps the solution preserved after opening. The resulting solution must be blue: that is the most immediate visual check of the product's identity.

Add the solvent slowly down the vial wall, let it run, then swirl gently — no vigorous shaking, no vortex, as shear denatures peptides. On a 50 mg vial a generous solvent volume is often chosen: it never changes the mass present in the vial, only the resulting concentration. Our reconstitution calculator gives the resulting concentration for any volume.

Incompatibilities to know. Copper is redox-active, so the complex's stability depends on its chemical environment: a strong reducing agent such as ascorbic acid, or a competing chelator such as EDTA, shifts the equilibrium and can break the complex. Both combinations should be avoided in solution.

Storage

Lyophilized powder: -20 °C or below, protected from light and moisture; stable for years when unopened. After reconstitution: 2–8 °C, protected from light, with a reference shelf life of 28 days. For longer storage, frozen aliquots are preferable to repeated freeze-thaw cycles.

Common laboratory mistakes

• Accepting a white powder labelled GHK-Cu. The copper(II) complex is blue. A white powder or colourless solution is the bare tripeptide, which is a different product.
• Comparing the price of a bare GHK vial with a complex vial. The two references do not contain the same chemical entity.
• Mixing the solution with ascorbic acid or a chelator. A strong reducing agent or a competing chelator such as EDTA displaces the copper and breaks the complex.
• Using plain sterile water for a vial that will be opened several times. Without a preservative the solution is unprotected once the stopper has been pierced several times.
• Vortexing the vial. Gentle swirling is enough.