Skin & LongevityNew

AHK-Cu · UK research stock

Ala-His-Lys copper complex studied in hair follicle and dermal papilla research

Size

£38.99

SKU AHKCU-100 · In stock

Quantity

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Same-day dispatch on orders before 2pm (Mon–Fri) · Royal Mail Tracked 24

Free shipping on orders over £80

Free research vial with every order over £120

Research use only. This product is sold strictly for in-vitro laboratory research by qualified professionals. It is not for human or veterinary use.

About AHK-Cu

AHK-Cu is the copper(II) complex of the synthetic tripeptide L-alanyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine (Ala-His-Lys). It is a close analogue of GHK-Cu: Gly-His-Lys is a high-affinity copper chelator found naturally in human blood plasma ^[1], and AHK replaces its first amino acid, glycine, with alanine while keeping the histidine and the lysine. The published research on AHK-Cu is small, and almost all of it concerns the hair follicle.

Copper binding

AHK opens with the same Xxx-His sequence as GHK, one of the two well-established copper(II)-binding motifs at the start of a peptide chain ^[2]. In peptides of this kind, copper(II) is held by three nitrogen atoms of the peptide, with the fourth position in that plane taken by an outside ligand ^[2]; in GHK, those three are the terminal amine, a backbone amide nitrogen and the imidazole nitrogen of histidine ^[1]. In water the complex is a dark blue-purple ^[3].

Hair growth in animals

The published animal work on AHK-Cu is in a patent filed by ProCyte Corporation in 1994 and granted in 1996, on stimulating hair growth with peptide-copper complexes; its experiments are reported there rather than in a peer-reviewed journal ^[3]. Injected into the skin of C3H mice in the resting (telogen) phase of hair growth, AHK-Cu was followed by new hair at the injection sites, and the patent reports that building it with a D-amino acid in place of the natural L-form left that activity intact ^[3]. Applied to the skin, it did better than its phenylalanine analogue AHF-Cu: at the lower of two strengths, hair covered 90% of the treated area by day 34, against 13% with AHF-Cu ^[3]. The patent puts this down to lysine being hydrophilic, and says that by injection the hydrophilic complexes were instead the less active ^[3]. In rat pups given the chemotherapy drug cytarabine, skin around an AHK-Cu injection kept normal, growing (anagen) follicles while follicles further away became dystrophic; hair loss at the site scored 1.1 on a scale of 0 to 4 at the largest amount tested, against 4.0, total loss, with cytarabine alone ^[3].

Human hair follicle study

The only peer-reviewed study of AHK-Cu indexed in PubMed comes from the department of dermatology at Seoul National University, published in 2007 ^[4]. At picomolar to nanomolar concentrations, AHK-Cu lengthened isolated human hair follicles grown ex vivo and increased the proliferation of cultured dermal papilla cells, the specialised fibroblasts that are important to the formation and growth of the follicle ^[4]. At the nanomolar level it raised the cells' ratio of Bcl-2 to Bax and lowered the cleaved forms of caspase-3 and PARP, shifts that point away from apoptosis, although the fall in the number of apoptotic cells counted by flow cytometry was not statistically significant ^[4]. The authors proposed that AHK-Cu promotes follicle growth by stimulating dermal papilla cells to proliferate and holding off their apoptosis ^[4].

Research areas and status

Published work uses AHK-Cu to study hair follicle growth, dermal papilla cell proliferation and apoptosis signalling ^[4], and how the amino acids of a copper peptide change its activity ^[3]. A 2026 review of short peptides for hair loss classes the evidence for AHK-Cu as experimental, from human follicles studied ex vivo, and notes that its signalling mechanism is less well characterised than that of GHK-Cu ^[5]. No clinical trial of AHK-Cu has been published. One early phase 1 study, registered in October 2026 and enrolling by invitation, includes it in a mixed peptide serum applied to the skin alongside GHK-Cu, with untreated skin on the same person as the comparison ^[6].

Supplied as lyophilized powder in a sealed glass vial. Store lyophilized vials at -20°C away from light and moisture; short-term storage at 4°C is acceptable. UK orders placed before 2pm on business days are dispatched the same day in discreet, protective packaging with tracked delivery.

For laboratory research use only. This product is not a drug, food, or supplement and is not intended for human or veterinary use of any kind.

Research area

Skin & Longevity

Purity

≥99%

Form

Lyophilized powder

Sizes

100 mg

CAS number

682809-81-0

Molecular formula

C15H24ClCuN6O4

Molecular weight

451.4 g/mol

Storage

Store at -20°C. Keep away from light.

Sizes, codes and availability
Size	SKU	Price	Availability
100 mg	AHKCU-100	£38.99	In stock

Dispatch and delivery

Orders placed before 2pm Monday to Friday are dispatched the same day, by Royal Mail Tracked 24 in discreet packaging.

Shipping is £4.99, free on orders over £80.

A free research vial comes with every order over £120. Full size, off our own shelf and sealed. We choose which one, and you find out when you open the box.

Shipping and returns

Storage and handling

Supplied as lyophilized powder.

Storage Store at -20°C. Keep away from light.

Reconstitution solvents and the rest of the bench consumables are in Lab Essentials, and the FAQ covers handling questions.

Research use only. Sold strictly for in-vitro laboratory research by qualified professionals. Not for human or veterinary use.

Questions about AHK-Cu

What purity is AHK-Cu?

AHK-Cu is synthesised to a ≥99% purity specification and supplied as lyophilized powder in a sealed glass vial. The specification is the standard the compound is made to, and it is listed with the rest of its specifications on this page.

How should AHK-Cu be stored?

Store at -20°C. Keep away from light. Lyophilized vials keep best at -20°C, protected from light and moisture; short-term storage at 4°C is acceptable, and the powder is stable at room temperature for the time it spends in the post.

What comes with AHK-Cu?

Each unit is one sealed glass vial of lyophilized powder. Nothing to reconstitute it with is included: bacteriostatic water and the rest of the bench consumables are sold separately under Lab Essentials.

How fast is UK delivery?

Orders placed and paid before 2pm on a business day (Monday to Friday, excluding UK public holidays) are dispatched the same day via Royal Mail Tracked 24 in discreet, protective packaging, and arrive usually the next working day after dispatch. Standard shipping is £4.99, free on orders over £80, and orders over £120 arrive with a free research vial. The minimum order is £15, before delivery. We ship within the United Kingdom only.

Can I change my mind and return an order?

If you are buying as a consumer, yes: you have 14 days from delivery to cancel, without giving a reason, under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. Tell us within 14 days, send the sealed vials back within 14 days, and we refund the goods plus the original delivery charge within 14 days. Return postage is at your cost unless the item was faulty or wrong. Opened vials are the one exception: our vials are sealed sterile, and regulation 28(3)(b) puts sealed goods that cannot be resold once unsealed, for health and hygiene reasons, outside the cancellation right.

Is AHK-Cu for human use?

No. AHK-Cu is supplied strictly for in-vitro laboratory research by qualified professionals. It is not a drug, food, cosmetic or supplement, it is not intended for human or veterinary use, and we do not provide dosage or administration guidance of any kind.

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AHK-Cu · UK research stock