GHK-Cu is a naturally occurring copper-binding tripeptide with a development status of "cosmetic use / preclinical". The Institute rates the strength of its published evidence as moderate. A copper-binding tripeptide found in human plasma, extensively studied in skin-repair and cosmetic contexts.
This guide is educational and takes no position on whether anyone should obtain GHK-Cu. Its purpose is narrower: to make it possible to evaluate claims made about it without specialist training.
A certificate of analysis is a document about one specific batch at one specific time. If the lot number on the document does not match the lot on the vial, it tells you nothing about what you received. Check the lot, check the date, and check that the issuing laboratory exists and will confirm it ran the assay.
Independent testing exists because the alternative is trusting a seller's description of its own product. The Institute publishes every result it commissions, including the ones companies would prefer we did not.
The Institute has independently tested 4 GHK-Cu samples from 4 companies. 75% met their label claims on purity and content. Measured purity ranged from 69.1% to 98.8%, averaging 90.7%. 1 sample failed verification outright. Every specimen is published in full, including the laboratory that ran it.
The Peptide Institute is an independent research institute. We do not sell products, we do not accept vendor sponsorship, and we publish results that reflect badly on companies as readily as results that do not.
