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documented protocols

GHK-Cu: what is documented about dosing

What published work used, in which species and by which route, reported as a record rather than as a protocol.

Last Reviewed Editorial policy Methodology

Published work on GHK-Cu records what was applied or given in each study, in the model that study built. That record is set out below with the species and the route named on every line.

No study has established an amount for a person. The two randomized human trials used a cream and a skin care regimen whose full formulations are not in their abstracts, and neither paper is open access, so the figures this page can report from them are limited to what the abstracts state.

The recruiting phase 2 has a registered protocol carrying a concentration, an amount and a schedule. This page does not reproduce any of them, for the reason given on the editorial policy page: a figure from a trial protocol reprinted here would read as an instruction whatever hedge sits around it.

Not medical advice

This page reports what has been documented about a compound. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, not a dosing protocol, and not a recommendation to obtain or use anything described here. Talk to a licensed clinician about anything concerning your health. Read the full disclaimer.

Reviewed against editorial standards Updated

What this page reports, and what it does not

We report what has been documented. We do not prescribe what should be done.

Nothing here is a dosing recommendation. Statements about dosing reflect community and research reports only.

No trial established an amount of GHK-Cu for a person. Most of the rows below record what a published study gave to its animals or its cells, in the model that study built, with the species and the route named on the line. One row records that other figures circulate in community write-ups, and that this site does not republish them. Nothing here is a protocol, nothing here is scaled for a person, and this site publishes no preparation steps, no administration technique and no equipment. The reasoning is in the editorial policy.

Commonly cited protocols (extrapolated, not validated)

What published studies gave, in which species and by which route, and what circulates elsewhere. The source class is named on every row, and none of it is a clinical protocol
StudyWhat was givenFrequencyDurationNotes
Human venous stasis ulcers, topical. Bishop 1992 [1]A tripeptide copper complex cream at 0.4 percent, against silver sulfadiazine 1 percent cream and an inert vehicle placeboNot stated in the abstractNot stated in the abstractThe largest human study of this compound. The paper is not open access, so nothing beyond the concentrations is available to report
Human skin after CO2 laser resurfacing, topical. Miller 2006 [2]A commercial skin care regimen containing GHK-Cu, against the same regimen without it. No concentration is given in the abstractNot stated in the abstractAssessments ran to twelve weeksThirteen patients completed. A regimen is a product rather than a substance, so even a stated concentration would not have been a figure for the peptide alone
Rat knee, injection into the joint. Fu 2015 [11]0.3 or 3 mg per millilitre GHK-Cu in solution, against salineOnce a week, beginning two weeks after surgeryFour weeks of treatment, with harvest at six and at twelve weeksSeventy-two rats, and the only published work on this compound using an injected route in any species
Mouse lung fibrosis, into the abdominal cavity. Ma 2020 [13]0.2, 2 and 20 micrograms per gram of body weight in phosphate-buffered salineOn alternate daysThrough the bleomycin fibrosis modelA body-weight-scaled amount in a mouse. Scaling between species is unreliable even for two mammals on the same route, and this route is not one anyone markets
Mouse skeletal muscle, into the abdominal cavity. Deng 2023 [14]0.2 and 2 mg per kilogram of body weightPer the study protocolThrough the cigarette-smoke exposure periodThe companion muscle study to the lung work, from the same group and on the same route
Human fibroblasts and keratinocytes, in culture. Wegrowski 1992, Gruchlik 2012 and 2014, Choi 2012 [7] [8] [9] [10]Culture concentrations chosen by the experimenter, from one nanomolar upwardsSingle treatment per assayPer the assayCells in a dish. A culture concentration is not an amount for a body and does not convert into one, and the 1992 response was biphasic, peaking between one and ten nanomolar and falling back above it
Registered phase 2, topical gel. NCT07437586 [22]The registered protocol states a concentration and an amount. This page does not reproduce themThe registered protocol states a schedule. This page does not reproduce itPrimary completion estimated 14 February 2027A trial protocol is a set of instructions for investigators. Reprinting one here would supply an instruction to a reader, which is the thing this site exists not to do
Community write-ups and vendor pagesFigures circulate. This site does not republish themFigures circulateFigures circulateNo trial established an amount for a person, so any figure in circulation is an extrapolation from an animal study, a copy of a product label, or has no origin at all

Two things in that table are worth pulling out. The first is that the human trials tested products rather than substances: a cream and a skin care regimen, each with a formulation that shapes what reaches skin as much as the peptide concentration does.

The second is that the culture work has a shape that a single number destroys. The 1992 glycosaminoglycan response peaked between one and ten nanomolar and returned towards control above it [7], so a higher concentration is not a stronger version of the same result, and no published work establishes what concentration living skin reaches under any product.

Our takeThe most useful sentence anyone can write about GHK-Cu amounts is that the two human trials tested finished products whose formulations were never published, and the one route with an established human figure is no route at all.

Main routes people compare

Topical

Almost all of the published work on this compound is topical, and it is also the route with the clearest unresolved question. Two ex vivo studies on human skin reached opposite conclusions about whether GHK-Cu crosses intact skin, and this page reports both rather than choosing between them [3] [5].

What follows from that disagreement is that a topical figure is not interpretable today. If the 2015 baseline finding is right, almost nothing crosses without a technique that breaches the barrier, and the concentration in the jar is close to irrelevant. If the 2010 measurement is right, a meaningful amount of copper crosses and forms a depot. Neither paper addresses the other, and a 2025 methodological review concludes the measurement problem itself is unsettled [6]. [In-vitro] [3] [5] [6]

Injected

One published study delivers GHK-Cu into a joint: weekly injections into the knee of a rat after ligament reconstruction, which produced a difference at six weeks that had gone by twelve [11]. Four further rodent studies used the abdominal cavity instead, which is a laboratory route rather than a marketed one, and they are set out below. No published study has given GHK-Cu by injection to a person, for any purpose.

FDA's own position on this route is specific and is in the regulatory section of the evidence review. This site publishes no preparation procedure, no administration technique and no equipment, on any route, and the reasoning is on the editorial policy page. [Animal] [11]

Into the abdominal cavity, in rodents

Three of the four rodent lung and muscle studies state intraperitoneal delivery at body-weight-scaled amounts [12] [13] [14]. That is a laboratory route chosen for reliable systemic exposure in a small animal, and it is not a route any product uses. The fourth, the airway remodelling study, is not open access and has no PubMed Central record, and its abstract states neither route nor amount [15]. This page holds the same line there as it does on the two human trials: where an abstract does not say, this page does not say either.

Body-weight scaling between species is unreliable even between two mammals given the same way, and none of these studies used a route that a person could take. The figures are properties of those experiments. [Animal] [12] [13] [14] [15]

What is said about cycle length and timing

Cycle lengths, loading phases and rest periods circulate for GHK-Cu as they do for everything sold beside it. None of them came from a study of this compound, because no study has run long enough in a person to define one.

What the published durations actually are: four weeks of treatment in the rat knee study with follow-up to twelve [11], twelve weeks of assessment in the 2006 human trial [2], six months in the 2016 hair trial that tests a different molecule [21], and the length of the induced injury in each rodent model.

Timing claims, with or without other products, morning or evening, have no published basis in either direction, because no pharmacokinetic study of this compound exists in any species.

Talk to a licensed clinician about anything concerning your health.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a documented GHK-Cu amount for a person?

No. The two randomized human trials tested finished products, a cream at a stated concentration in 1992 and an unstated skin care regimen in 2006, and neither established an amount for anything. For injection the position is different but no more useful: five rodent studies used it, one into a joint and four systemically. The joint study reports a solution concentration and three of the systemic studies report amounts scaled to the body weight of a mouse, while the fourth is not open access and its abstract gives no figure at all. Every figure that does exist is a property of the model that study built.

Why does this page not reproduce the registered trial's protocol?

Because a trial protocol is a set of instructions written for investigators, and reprinting one on a page a consumer reads turns it into an instruction for that reader whatever hedge sits around it. The registered record's existence, design, sponsor, dates and primary outcome are all on this site. Its concentration, amount and schedule are not.

Do the cell culture concentrations mean anything for a product?

Not directly, and the shape of the 1992 result is why. Stimulation of glycosaminoglycan synthesis peaked between one and ten nanomolar and fell back towards control above that, so a concentration is not a strength dial. Nothing published establishes what concentration living skin reaches under any topical product, which is the number that would be needed to connect the two.

Which route has the most published work behind it?

Topical, by a wide margin. Both human trials, all four laboratory permeation studies and the great majority of the cell work are topical or applied directly to cells. The injected route has one rat study and nothing in a person.

How long did the published studies run?

The rat knee study gave four weeks of injections and followed the animals to twelve weeks. The 2006 human trial assessed to twelve weeks. The rodent lung and muscle studies ran for the length of each induced injury. Nothing in any species has been given long enough to say anything about extended exposure.

Does this site publish preparation steps?

No. No preparation procedure, no administration technique and no equipment appears anywhere on this site, for any compound. That is a standing rule rather than a judgement about GHK-Cu, and the reasoning is on the editorial policy page.

References

  1. Bishop JB, Phillips LG, Mustoe TA, VanderZee AJ, Wiersema L, Roach DE, Heggers JP, Hill DP Jr, Taylor EL, Robson MC. A prospective randomized evaluator-blinded trial of two potential wound healing agents for the treatment of venous stasis ulcers. J Vasc Surg. 1992. PMID 1495150 DOI 10.1067/mva.1992.37086
  2. Miller TR, Wagner JD, Baack BR, Eisbach KJ. Effects of topical copper tripeptide complex on CO2 laser-resurfaced skin. Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2006. PMID 16847171 DOI 10.1001/archfaci.8.4.252
  3. Hostynek JJ, Dreher F, Maibach HI. Human skin retention and penetration of a copper tripeptide in vitro as function of skin layer towards anti-inflammatory therapy. Inflamm Res. 2010. PMID 20703511 DOI 10.1007/s00011-010-0214-4
  4. Mazurowska L, Mojski M. Biological activities of selected peptides: skin penetration ability of copper complexes with peptides. J Cosmet Sci. 2008. PMID 18350235
  5. Li H, Low YS, Chong HP, Zin MT, Lee CY, Li B, Leolukman M, Kang L. Microneedle-Mediated Delivery of Copper Peptide Through Skin. Pharm Res. 2015. PMID 25690343 DOI 10.1007/s11095-015-1652-z
  6. Ogórek K, Nowak K, Wadych E, Ruzik L, Timerbaev AR, Matczuk M. Are We Ready to Measure Skin Permeation of Modern Antiaging GHK-Cu Tripeptide Encapsulated in Liposomes? Molecules. 2025. PMID 39795193 DOI 10.3390/molecules30010136
  7. Wegrowski Y, Maquart FX, Borel JP. Stimulation of sulfated glycosaminoglycan synthesis by the tripeptide-copper complex glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine-Cu2+. Life Sci. 1992. PMID 1522753 DOI 10.1016/0024-3205(92)90504-i
  8. Gruchlik A, Jurzak M, Chodurek E, Dzierzewicz Z. Effect of Gly-Gly-His, Gly-His-Lys and their copper complexes on TNF-alpha-dependent IL-6 secretion in normal human dermal fibroblasts. Acta Pol Pharm. 2012. PMID 23285694
  9. Gruchlik A, Chodurek E, Dzierzewicz Z. Effect of GLY-HIS-LYS and its copper complex on TGF-β secretion in normal human dermal fibroblasts. Acta Pol Pharm. 2014. PMID 25745767
  10. Choi HR, Kang YA, Ryoo SJ, Shin JW, Na JI, Huh CH, Park KC. Stem cell recovering effect of copper-free GHK in skin. J Pept Sci. 2012. PMID 23019153 DOI 10.1002/psc.2455
  11. Fu SC, Cheuk YC, Chiu WY, Yung SH, Rolf CG, Chan KM. Tripeptide-copper complex GHK-Cu (II) transiently improved healing outcome in a rat model of ACL reconstruction. J Orthop Res. 2015. PMID 25731775 DOI 10.1002/jor.22831
  12. Bian Y, Deng M, Liu J, Li J, Zhang Q, Wang Z, Liao L, Miao J, Li R, Zhou X, Hou G. The glycyl-l-histidyl-l-lysine-Cu(2+) tripeptide complex attenuates lung inflammation and fibrosis in silicosis by targeting peroxiredoxin 6. Redox Biol. 2024. PMID 38879894 DOI 10.1016/j.redox.2024.103237
  13. Ma WH, Li M, Ma HF, Li W, Liu L, Yin Y, Zhou XM, Hou G. Protective effects of GHK-Cu in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis via anti-oxidative stress and anti-inflammation pathways. Life Sci. 2020. PMID 31809714 DOI 10.1016/j.lfs.2019.117139
  14. Deng M, Zhang Q, Yan L, Bian Y, Li R, Gao J, Wang Y, Miao J, Li J, Zhou X, Hou G. Glycyl-l-histidyl-l-lysine-Cu(2+) rescues cigarette smoking-induced skeletal muscle dysfunction via a sirtuin 1-dependent pathway. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2023. PMID 36905132 DOI 10.1002/jcsm.13213
  15. Zhang Q, Liu J, Deng MM, Tong R, Hou G. Relief of ovalbumin-induced airway remodeling by the glycyl-l-histidyl-l-lysine-Cu(2+) tripeptide complex via activation of SIRT1 in airway epithelial cells. Biomed Pharmacother. 2023. PMID 37257226 DOI 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.114936
  16. Wen H, Zhao K, Luo X, Pu J, Li Y, Dou Y, He J, Nie X, Ke Y, Zhou W. The GHK-Cu delays aging in Caenorhabditis elegans via coordinated regulation of mitochondrial function and activation of DAF-16/SKN-1 pathways. Biogerontology. 2026. PMID 42084774 DOI 10.1007/s10522-026-10444-x
  17. Pickart L, Vasquez-Soltero JM, Margolina A. GHK and DNA: resetting the human genome to health. Biomed Res Int. 2014. PMID 25302294 DOI 10.1155/2014/151479
  18. Pickart L, Vasquez-Soltero JM, Margolina A. GHK Peptide as a Natural Modulator of Multiple Cellular Pathways in Skin Regeneration. Biomed Res Int. 2015. PMID 26236730 DOI 10.1155/2015/648108
  19. Pickart L, Vasquez-Soltero JM, Margolina A. The human tripeptide GHK-Cu in prevention of oxidative stress and degenerative conditions of aging: implications for cognitive health. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2012. PMID 22666519 DOI 10.1155/2012/324832
  20. Pickart L. The human tri-peptide GHK and tissue remodeling. J Biomater Sci Polym Ed. 2008. PMID 18644225 DOI 10.1163/156856208784909435
  21. Lee WJ, Sim HB, Jang YH, Lee SJ, Kim do W, Yim SH. Efficacy of a Complex of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid and Glycyl-Histidyl-Lysine Peptide on Hair Growth. Ann Dermatol. 2016. PMID 27489425 DOI 10.5021/ad.2016.28.4.438
  22. Hudson Biotech. A Phase 2, Randomized, Double-Blind, Vehicle-Controlled, Split-Wound Study of Topical GHK-Cu (Copper(II)-Peptide Complex) Gel to Accelerate Re-Epithelialization of Standardized Acute Skin Wounds in Healthy Adults. Registry record read in full through the ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 on 8 August 2026: recruiting, actual start 2 February 2026, estimated primary completion 14 February 2027, no results posted. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT07437586. 2026. Source document
  23. Austin Institute for Clinical Research. A Phase IV Open-label Trial Assessing the Impact on Skin Quality, Hydration, and Barrier of Three (3) Hydrafacial Treatments in Adults of Fitzpatrick Skin Types I-VI. Registry record read in full through the ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 on 8 August 2026: completed 9 October 2024, 27 participants, no results posted. Three interventions, of which one is a drug: a booster serum whose registered description lists the compound among its ingredients, applied to every participant. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05932732. 2024. Source document
  24. US Food and Drug Administration. Bulk Drug Substances Nominated for Use in Compounding Under Section 503A of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Document updated 14 May 2026, carrying the category 1 list and the GHK-Cu withdrawal and clarification history. FDA human drug compounding. 2026. Source document
  25. US Food and Drug Administration. Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding that May Present Significant Safety Risks. Category 2 of the bulk substances nominated under sections 503A or 503B, with the table of substances previously in category 2 whose nominations were withdrawn. Page content current 22 April 2026. FDA human drug compounding. 2026. Source document
  26. US Food and Drug Administration. Questions for PCAC regarding whether FDA should include certain bulk drug substances on the 503A Bulks List, Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee, 23 and 24 July 2026. Seven substances are put to a vote across four sessions, two questions each: BPC-157, KPV, TB-500, MOTS-c, emideltide, epitalon and semax. Read in full on 8 August 2026; a case-insensitive search for GHK returns nothing. FDA advisory committee materials. 2026. Source document
  27. US Food and Drug Administration. FDA Authority Over Cosmetics: How Cosmetics Are Not FDA-Approved, but Are FDA-Regulated. Page content current 18 November 2025. FDA cosmetics laws and regulations. 2025. Source document
  28. Pickart L, Thaler MM. Tripeptide in human serum which prolongs survival of normal liver cells and stimulates growth in neoplastic liver. Nat New Biol. 1973. PMID 4349963
  29. LifeWave, Inc. A Two-part Study Investigating the Effect of the X39 Patch on Circulating Blood Levels of GHK and GHK-Cu in a Healthy Adult Population. Registry record read in full through the ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 on 8 August 2026: not yet recruiting, estimated start January 2027, 100 participants estimated. Its four primary outcomes are changes in circulating GHK and GHK-Cu levels from baseline to day 8, so the compound is the quantity measured rather than the intervention. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT07706361. 2026. Source document