GHK-Cu vs AHK-Cu: two copper tripeptides compared

GHK-Cu and AHK-Cu are two copper tripeptides that differ by a single amino acid. GHK-Cu is glycine, histidine and lysine holding a copper(II) ion. AHK-Cu puts alanine where the glycine was and keeps the histidine and lysine. GHK-Cu is the better known of the two, and it is the one used in the blends. pepuro sells both as lyophilized powder in 50 mg and 100 mg vials, and each vial has a QR code that opens the lab report for its own batch.

GHK-Cu vs AHK-Cu side by side

The letters in each name are the one-letter amino acid codes. G is glycine, A is alanine, H is histidine and K is lysine. The histidine in the middle is the copper-binding residue in both.

AHK-Cu's formula, mass and CAS number are not yet in our own product specs, so this page leaves them out rather than repeat a number from another source. The lab report for each AHK-Cu batch states the expected and observed mass for that batch.

Alanine carries one more carbon than glycine, so AHK-Cu is a little heavier than GHK-Cu. That difference is enough for mass spectrometry to tell the two apart, which matters when a supplier sells both.

GHK-Cu, GHK basic and the colour check

GHK also exists without copper. We sell it as GHK basic at 340.38 g/mol, and the copper complex brings the mass to 403.91. GHK-Cu vs GHK basic walks through that pair line by line.

Both copper forms share the same visible trait. Copper(II) complexes absorb red light, so a reconstituted copper tripeptide looks blue. A vial labelled GHK-Cu or AHK-Cu that dissolves clear and colourless should be checked against its report before anything else. The GHK-Cu handling guide covers that colour check, the concentration table and storage.

GHK-Cu vs NAD+: a peptide and a coenzyme

GHK-Cu and NAD+ are different kinds of molecule, and only one of them is a peptide.

GHK-Cu is built from amino acids. NAD+ is a dinucleotide, two nucleotides joined through their phosphate groups, and it is central to redox reactions in the cell. The two do not overlap as molecules, and a report for one tells you nothing about the other.

Prices per vial

These are pepuro's list prices on the date of this article. The product cards above always show the current price.

A blend's label mass is the combined content of every peptide in it, and the report states the ratio for that batch. What is a peptide blend? explains how a combined vial is made. GHK-Cu in Canada covers where to find it and its legal status as a research chemical.

What to check on a copper tripeptide report

A GHK-Cu vial and an AHK-Cu vial look the same on a shelf, and both are blue once reconstituted, so the report is what separates them. For either one, look for:

1. An observed mass that matches the expected mass for that peptide. For GHK-Cu that is near 403.91 g/mol.
2. HPLC purity of 99% or higher, the floor for every batch pepuro ships.
3. A batch number that matches the code on the vial.
4. A named lab that is independent of the seller.

How to read a peptide lab report explains each line.

Every GHK-Cu and AHK-Cu vial from pepuro ships free from our Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver distribution centers, dispatched the same business day your e-Transfer clears, with a QR code on the vial that opens its independent, third-party lab report.

For research use only. Not for human or animal consumption.