Important limitations
- Individual claims and source links have not yet completed editorial verification.
- Evidence level, applicable study model, formulation, route and population remain unassigned.
GHK Basic
GHK, both with and without copper, has a significant impact on a wide array of genes associated with an organism’s response to stress and injury.
Dosing & scaling, explained
The moderated mass amounts below are retained for comparison. Near-duplicates, mix-dependent volumes and device markings are excluded. This is educational source context, not a protocol or recommendation.
Mass amounts available for comparison
- Lower range1 mgDose
Recorded example with no verified study backing; shown for amount literacy only.
- Mid range5 mgDose
Recorded example with no verified study backing; shown for amount literacy only.
Only mcg or mg amounts are retained. The calculator derives mL, syringe units or pen clicks from the current vial strength, water volume and device.
No independently verified schedule
Evidence context
No clinical amount or schedule is inferred from this material. Source verification is pending, and every displayed amount remains educational context rather than guidance.
Storage, handling and interpretation
Product identity
Verify the exact compound, formulation and amount against the product label or certificate before calculation.
Storage & handling
Follow the product label, certificate and validated laboratory SOP; no universal storage assumption is applied here.
Prepared solutions
Label concentration and preparation date, use sterile technique where applicable, and follow a validated stability protocol.
Reported protocols for GHK Basic
What published studies and recent community write-ups report about amounts, timing and course length. 2 preclinical and 4 community-reported rows, each linked to its source. These are descriptions of what others report, not instructions, and nothing here is medical advice.
| Context | Dose | Frequency | Route | Course | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preclinical2 rows | |||||
| Lung fibroblast gene-signature reversal (cell culture)Distal lung fibroblasts from former smokers with and without COPD; Connectivity Map cancer cell lines | 10 nM GHK (0.1 nM also profiled; 1 micromolar in the Connectivity Map dataset) | Single 48-hour exposure | Added to culture medium | 48 hoursNot applicable | Genome Medicine (PubMed Central)2012 |
| GHK was identified computationally as a compound that reverses the gene-expression signature of emphysematous destruction, and 10 nM GHK restored collagen gel contraction and actin organization in COPD-derived fibroblasts to the level of non-COPD cells. This is in vitro work on human cells, with no animal or human dosing, and the authors called for further studies before any therapeutic claim. | |||||
| Systemic dose estimate from animal injection studies (review)Rats, mice and pigs given GHK or GHK-Cu by distant-site or intraperitoneal injection to induce systemic wound healing | About 100-200 mg of GHK estimated for a human, extrapolated from animal doses | Once daily in the intraperitoneal animal studies cited | Intraperitoneal or intramuscular (thigh) injection in animals | Duration of the wound-healing modelsNot applicable | BioMed Research International (PubMed Central)2015 |
| Pickart's 2015 review extrapolates from his group's animal injection work to estimate that 100-200 mg of GHK would act systemically in a person, while noting the figure may be an overestimate because the peptide acts on cells at nanomolar concentrations. No human study has tested injected GHK at any dose, and the author discovered and commercialized the peptide. | |||||
| Community-reported4 rows | |||||
| Copper-free GHK community dosing table | 1-3 mg (some users 200-500 mcg, others up to 5 mg) | Once daily | Subcutaneous (abdomen for systemic use; near the hairline for hair-focused use); topical 0.1-2% serums also listed | 4-12 weeksNot specified; inherited from GHK-Cu cycling habits | Community resource2026 |
| One community guide's April 2026 page lists 1 mg once daily as the usual community starting point, rising to 2-3 mg, and states that every figure is extrapolated from GHK-Cu protocols because no dose-finding or pharmacokinetic study of copper-free GHK exists in any species. It also warns that a reconstituted vial turning blue indicates the copper complex rather than the copper-free peptide. | |||||
| 50 mg vial convention | 1-2 mg (about 4-8 units at 25 mg/mL) | Once daily | Subcutaneous, rotating abdomen, outer thigh and upper arm | 4-8 weeksNot specified | Community resource2026 |
| This July 2026 chart reproduces the vendor convention of a 50 mg vial in 2 mL bacteriostatic water (25 mg/mL) dosed at roughly 1-2 mg a day, tiered as 1 mg conservative, 1-1.5 mg standard and 1.5-2 mg higher. It stresses that the numbers are borrowed from the copper complex, that copper-free GHK has no injectable study at all, and that the vendor source itself admits no human trial has set an injectable schedule. | |||||
| Calculator-site dosing card | 1-3 mg per day (1 mg is 10 units at 10 mg/mL) | Once daily | Subcutaneous; topical 0.5-2% for cosmetic use | Not statedNot stated | Community resource2026 |
| One community calculator's August 2026 card rates the evidence for the copper-free form as low, lists an estimated half-life of 1-2 hours, and gives a 50 mg in 5 mL reconstitution example. Its main point is that the dermal and gene-expression literature belongs to GHK-Cu and should not be transferred to the copper-free vial. | |||||
| Aggregated calculator sessions | Median 500 mcg; 1 mg the most common entry | Once daily (most modeled interval) | Reconstituted for injection, most often a 10 mg vial in 1 mL | Not recordedNot recorded | Community resource2026 |
| One community calculator reports anonymized inputs from 16 calculator sessions for GHK Basic, so the figures reflect what a small number of users planned rather than any outcome. The page quotes a reported half-life of about 1.5 hours and notes that the copper-free peptide's activity depends on capturing copper in tissue, which is less characterized than giving GHK-Cu directly. | |||||
How a course is commonly described
- Weeks 1-2Community-reported
Community pages describe starting copper-free GHK at about 1 mg subcutaneously once a day, often from a 50 mg vial reconstituted to 25 mg/mL, with the solution expected to stay colorless. Any effect at this stage is self-reported and unmeasured.
- Weeks 3-8Community-reported
Guides describe holding 1-2 mg daily, or stepping up to 2-3 mg if tolerated, through a 4-8 week block that is copied directly from GHK-Cu vendor conventions. The sites agree that no trial has measured anything after injected GHK in people.
- Weeks 8-12 and breakCommunity-reported
The longest described courses run 12 weeks before a pause. No source specifies the length of the break for the copper-free form; the 4-12 week cycle itself is described as inherited from GHK-Cu, with no tachyphylaxis or cycling data of its own.
- Evidence comparisonPreclinical
The only published dosing for copper-free GHK is in cell culture, where 10 nM restored collagen contraction in COPD lung fibroblasts over 48 hours. The review-based estimate that 100-200 mg would act systemically in a person has never been tested, and no animal study has injected copper-free GHK on a schedule resembling the community courses above.
- Every injectable figure for GHK Basic is borrowed from GHK-Cu practice. There is no dose-finding, pharmacokinetic or outcome study of copper-free GHK by injection in any species, and the published human data for the copper complex are topical.
- Community sources quote half-lives of 1-2 hours, but these are estimates rather than measured values; the peptide is rapidly cleaved by proteases and binds any available copper in tissue, so its activity after injection depends on copper capture that has not been characterized.
- GHK is sold as a cosmetic ingredient (Tripeptide-1) and as a research chemical. It is not approved for injection, is not named on the 2026 WADA list according to the sources above, and the parent GHK-Cu's compounding status was still in flux in 2026.
Sources for this section (6)
- A gene expression signature of emphysema-related lung destruction and its reversal by the tripeptide GHK
- GHK Peptide as a Natural Modulator of Multiple Cellular Pathways in Skin Regeneration
Plus 4 community resources (dosing guides, forum threads and vendor write-ups), reported above but not linked.
How GHK Basic is being studied to work
This process map organizes available educational context. Individual claims remain subject to source-level verification.
- 1
GHK Research and Mechanisms
Scientific studies on GHK's biological effects including fibrinogen suppression, DNA repair, and antioxidant properties
Overview
GHK Basic is the vendor name for glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine, the copper-free form of the tripeptide that Loren Pickart isolated from human plasma in 1973 and that occurs as a fragment inside albumin, collagen and other proteins. GHK binds copper(II) tightly, and almost all of the published wound-healing, skin and gene-expression work was done with the copper complex GHK-Cu, so the copper-free peptide has almost no literature of its own beyond cell-culture studies such as the 2012 emphysema gene-signature work. Plasma GHK is reported to fall from about 200 ng/mL at age 20 to 80 ng/mL by 60, a decline that marketing ties to tissue repair. It is sold as a cosmetic ingredient (Tripeptide-1) and as a research chemical; it is not approved for injection anywhere, no human dose-finding study exists for any route, and the injectable doses in circulation are copied from GHK-Cu community practice.
What researchers are exploring
These themes organize the educational information currently available. Individual claims remain under source review and are not treatment claims.
- 1
GHK Research and Mechanisms
Scientific studies on GHK's biological effects including fibrinogen suppression, DNA repair, and antioxidant properties
- 2
Tissue Repair and Cancer Research
GHK's role in tissue repair mechanisms and potential cancer control applications
- 3
GHK Summary
Overview of GHK's versatile benefits and research applications
What is known and what still needs verification
Available context is organized without assigning unsupported study models or evidence grades.
- Not graded
GHK Research and Mechanisms
Scientific studies on GHK's biological effects including fibrinogen suppression, DNA repair, and antioxidant properties
- Not graded
Tissue Repair and Cancer Research
GHK's role in tissue repair mechanisms and potential cancer control applications
- Not graded
GHK Summary
Overview of GHK's versatile benefits and research applications
Amounts recorded for GHK Basic
These amount records are independent from vial strength, reconstitution volume and measuring device. A recorded source is not the same as study backing, and these values are not recommendations.
- 1Dose · lower endpointSign in for schedule, duration and source context.1 mg
- 2Dose · upper endpointSign in for schedule, duration and source context.5 mg
Chemistry identifiers
Sequence, synonyms and registry identifiers as recorded in PubChem, the National Library of Medicine's open chemistry database. Formula, mass and CAS number are summarized at the top of the page.
Sequence
Gly-His-Lys
Also listed as
Glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine, GHK, Prezatide, Tripeptide-1, Liver cell growth factor, Growth-modulating peptide (human), UNII 39TG2H631E, CHEMBL1814493
InChIKey
MVORZMQFXBLMHM-QWRGUYRKSA-N
Entry type
Peptide research profile
IUPAC name
(2S)-6-amino-2-[[(2S)-2-[(2-aminoacetyl)amino]-3-(1H-imidazol-5-yl)propanoyl]amino]hexanoic acid
Limitations and unknowns
Sources
1 link carried over from the earlier page, awaiting verification.