GHK-Cu (GHKCu): research reagent reference

Store the sealed vial dry, dark and frozen at −20 °C or colder, and let it reach room temperature in a desiccator before opening.^S1 The copper centre adds two bench considerations. The complex exists as several species depending on pH, so buffer choice can change what is actually in solution. Its blue colour can also interfere with absorbance-based or colorimetric assays, so run a reagent blank. Keep solutions short-lived, as frozen single-use aliquots.

GHK-Cu is water-soluble. Avoid buffers containing strong copper chelators, such as EDTA, unless the protocol intends to strip the copper, and note the pH, since it changes which copper species is present.

1. Work in a clean laminar-flow or biosafety cabinet using aseptic technique, with gloves and eye protection.
2. Let the sealed vial reach room temperature in a desiccator before opening, so moisture does not condense on the powder.
3. Tap or briefly centrifuge the vial so all of the powder sits at the bottom.
4. Use the solvent your assay protocol specifies. Sterile water or a suitable buffer suits most short, charged peptides; a sequence that resists dissolving may need the small amount of dilute acetic acid or organic co-solvent described in standard peptide handling guides.^S1
5. Add the solvent slowly down the inside wall of the vial with a calibrated pipette, then swirl or roll gently until the solution is clear. Avoid vigorous shaking or vortexing, which can promote aggregation.
6. If the assay needs a sterile solution, pass it through a 0.22 µm low-protein-binding filter.
7. Label the stock with compound, solvent, date and batch number, split it into single-use aliquots, and freeze them at −20 °C or colder. Thaw one aliquot per experiment and discard what is left rather than refreezing it.

The concentration of a stock solution is set by the assay protocol, not by this page. Our guides to reconstituting peptides with bacteriostatic or sterile water and how to store peptides explain the reasoning behind each step.

Purity: not published. Titan Peptides publishes a purity figure only once a certificate of analysis (COA) for the batch has been checked and its compound name, CAS number and sequence match the product. Until that check is complete, no purity figure is shown on this page or in the catalogue.

A COA is available to account holders on request. Our guide on how to read a peptide certificate of analysis explains what to check, and HPLC and mass spectrometry for peptide purity covers how the figures are measured.

GHK-Cu is not named in the Poisons Standard June 2026 (F2026L00633). The instrument does contain a general Schedule 4 entry for "copper compounds for human use", with exceptions that include preparations containing 5% or less of copper compounds.³ The TGA's 13 April 2026 safety advisory names GHK-Cu as an example of an unapproved peptide product, not evaluated by the TGA for safety, quality or effectiveness, and states that a "research use only" disclaimer does not make supply lawful.⁴ See research peptides and Australian law.