Also known as:Copper peptide· common nameCopper tripeptide-1· cosmetic/ingredient name
Skinwound healing
GHK-Cu
Evidence levelLimited human
Human evidenceLimited
Regulatory statusInjectable not FDA-approved
What you need to know in 20 seconds
What is it?
Copper-binding tripeptide complex
Research focus
Skin, wound healing, collagen, hair/cosmetic research
Human evidence
Human evidence is route-specific and mixed. A randomized venous-ulcer study of topical 0.4% copper-tripeptide cream found no superiority over vehicle, and a 13-person randomized post-CO2-laser study found no significant objective skin benefit, although subjective satisfaction favored treatment. Injectable/systemic evidence remains much weaker.
Regulatory status
Injectable GHK-Cu is not an FDA-approved therapeutic product; FDA highlights compounded-injection safety uncertainty.
Main limitations
Systemic benefits, long-term injectable safety and equivalence of research vials are not established.
Safety
Route matters. FDA notes limited human safety data for injectable GHK-Cu and potential immunogenicity/impurity concerns.
i
Human evidence is route-specific and mixed. A randomized venous-ulcer study of topical 0.4% copper-tripeptide cream found no superiority over vehicle, and a 13-person randomized post-CO2-laser study found no significant objective skin benefit, although subjective satisfaction favored treatment. Injectable/systemic evi…
What the evidence actually supports
✓Important negative result: mechanism/preclinical enthusiasm did not translate into superiority in this trial.
✓Topical GHK-Cu has some human study exposure, but this trial does not support a strong objective post-laser benefit claim.
What is not established / key limitations
×Copper-tripeptide cream did not outperform vehicle placebo; silver sulfadiazine reduced ulcer size.
×No significant objective advantage over vehicle.
Selected study & evidence records
Randomized study of tripeptide-copper complex cream in venous stasis ulcers
1992 · Randomized controlled topical trial · n=86
The copper-tripeptide cream did not differ significantly from vehicle placebo; silver sulfadiazine reduced ulcer size.
Route matters. FDA notes limited human safety data for injectable GHK-Cu and potential immunogenicity/impurity concerns.
Topical products can cause local irritation; injectable/systemic GHK-Cu lacks a robust human safety dataset. Route, sterility, purity and copper exposure matter.
Technical details
Mechanism / biologyCopper-bound GHK influences extracellular-matrix, wound-remodelling and gene-expression pathways.
Route / formulation boundaryTopical cosmetic evidence cannot be automatically extrapolated to injected GHK-Cu.
Identity / data-quality noteUse the canonical compound identity and studied formulation when interpreting evidence.
Dosing evidence statusVerified topical human study exposure added; injectable dosing not established. A 0.4% topical tripeptide-copper cream was studied in a randomized human wound-ulcer trial and did not outperform vehicle placebo. This is route-specific research evidence and must not be converted into an injectable dose.
Evidence rule: WhichPeps keeps human, animal, laboratory, regulatory and product/formulation evidence distinct. Common names help people find the page; they do not change the underlying scientific identity.
