AHK-Cu
Skin Health & Anti-AgingResearch Use OnlyLast reviewed: September 29, 2026
Quick Facts
- What it is
- A synthetic tripeptide-copper complex — L-alanyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine-Cu2+ — marketed as a hair-growth research ingredient, distinct from the copper peptide GHK-Cu.
- How it's taken
- Not established in any living subject. The one published study applied it to hair follicles and cells cultured outside the body. No study of a topical, oral or injectable route in an animal or person was located.
- Half-life
- Not characterized — the single located source is an ex vivo/in vitro study with no pharmacokinetic measurement
- Typical research dose
- No dose exists — the only published figures are 10⁻¹²–10⁻⁹ M concentrations applied to cultured cells and tissue in a dish, not an amount for a living subject
- Research status
- A research-use-only ingredient, not an approved drug. One in vitro/ex vivo laboratory study names it; no human or animal study was located.
On this page
Where to source AHK-Cu
AHK-Cu is sold by specialty research peptide vendors for laboratory use only. The vendors below are the ones whose price data Prof. Peptide tracks for this compound. Quality varies between vendors — a Certificate of Analysis is the only identity and purity check available to a buyer.
Per-batch COAs
Third-party tested by Janoshik
What is AHK-Cu?
AHK-Cu is the abbreviation for L-alanyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine-copper(II), a synthetic tripeptide bound to a copper ion. It is marketed to hair-care formulators and to research buyers as a hair-growth ingredient. It is a different molecule from GHK-Cu (glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine-copper), a more widely studied copper tripeptide that substitutes glycine for alanine at the first position — a small structural difference that means AHK-Cu carries its own, separate and much smaller evidence base.
What makes this profile short is the state of the literature, not a shortage of interest in the ingredient. One laboratory study names AHK-Cu, applying it to human hair follicles cultured outside the body and to cultured human dermal papilla cells. No human trial, no human observational report and no animal study was located. Everything below is reported with that constraint attached, because it is the single most important thing to know about this compound. New to peptide research? Start with the basics
Reported in the cited study: stimulated elongation of ex vivo human hair follicles and proliferation of cultured dermal papilla cells at 10⁻¹²–10⁻⁹ M, with cell-survival markers consistent with reduced apoptosis in those cells [1]. That result belongs to isolated tissue and cells in a dish, not to a living animal or person.
The library's other Skin Health & Anti-Aging entries include GHK-Cu and SNAP-8.
What is AHK-Cu proposed to do?
The mechanism below is what the single located study measured directly in cultured cells — it is not extrapolated from GHK-Cu or from any other copper peptide.
- The proposed mechanism [1]. AHK-Cu is proposed to support hair growth by acting on dermal papilla cells (DPCs), the specialized fibroblasts inside a hair follicle that regulate its growth cycle. In the cited study, AHK-Cu increased DPC proliferation and reduced markers of DPC apoptosis (a higher Bcl-2/Bax ratio, lower cleaved caspase-3 and PARP), which the authors interpret as the basis for the follicle elongation they also observed.
- What was and was not measured [1]. The study measured follicle elongation in ex vivo organ culture and proliferation/apoptosis markers in cultured DPCs — bench measurements on isolated tissue and cells, not an outcome in a living animal or person. No gene-expression, receptor-binding or dose-response mechanism beyond these endpoints was reported.
- Not GHK-Cu's mechanism. GHK-Cu's proposed mechanisms (its own separate literature on gene expression and tissue remodeling) belong to a different molecule and are not restated here as evidence for AHK-Cu.
What does the research on AHK-Cu show?
A PubMed search for AHK-Cu (indexed under the Supplementary Concept “alanyl-histidyl-lysine)copper(ii)”) returned a single study that genuinely tests this compound. Prof. Peptide separately checked, and rejected, a cluster of similarly-named papers about DAHK, an unrelated tetrapeptide fragment of human serum albumin — those results are not included here.
- Ex vivo human hair follicle organ culture and cultured dermal papilla cells [1]. AHK-Cu (10⁻¹²–10⁻⁹ M) stimulated elongation of human hair follicles cultured outside the body, and proliferation of cultured human dermal papilla cells, in a 2007 study by Pyo et al.
- Cell-survival markers, same study [1]. In DPCs treated with 10⁻⁹ M AHK-Cu, the Bcl-2/Bax ratio rose and cleaved caspase-3 and PARP fell — markers the authors read as reduced apoptosis, alongside a non-statistically-significant drop in the measured apoptotic-cell count by flow cytometry.
- No human, animal or higher-tier study. Prof. Peptide located no human trial, no human observational report and no animal study of AHK-Cu. The evidence grade below — In Vitro — reflects that this is bench-level, cultured-tissue and cultured-cell evidence, one study, not independently replicated.
How is AHK-Cu used, and what is reported about tolerability?
There is no dose for AHK-Cu in the sense that word carries for a drug or even for an injectable research peptide. The only published data are concentrations applied to cultured tissue and cells in a dish. Tolerability is reported here in the same section, because no separate human or animal safety data exist to report.
The cited study applied AHK-Cu directly to ex vivo human hair follicles and to cultured human dermal papilla cells, at concentrations of 10(-12) to 10(-9) M [1]. That is a laboratory concentration in a culture medium, not a dose administered to a living organism, and it cannot be converted into a topical, oral or injectable amount for a person. No pharmacokinetic data — absorption, distribution or half-life — exist for AHK-Cu in the literature located here. No adverse-event data exist either: the cited study reports cell-survival markers in culture, not a safety outcome in an animal or a person, so there is nothing to report on tolerability beyond that absence. Research vendors sell AHK-Cu as a lyophilised vial or raw powder for laboratory use; Prof. Peptide publishes no reconstitution or administration schedule for it, because no published study has examined any route in a living subject.
What are the limitations of AHK-Cu research?
The single located study is a laboratory report, not a clinical trial: human hair follicles cultured ex vivo and human dermal papilla cells cultured separately, both outside a living body. Nothing here establishes an effect in an intact animal or a person.
One study, one research group, no independent replication located. The apoptotic-cell-count reduction the authors report was not statistically significant; the supporting markers (Bcl-2/Bax ratio, cleaved caspase-3, PARP) moved in a consistent direction but are surrogate markers, not a direct measure of hair growth in a person.
AHK-Cu is frequently marketed alongside, or confused with, GHK-Cu, a different tripeptide-copper complex with its own separate and larger evidence base. This profile does not borrow GHK-Cu's findings for AHK-Cu; anything reported above is drawn only from a study of AHK-Cu itself.
No pharmacokinetic, dose-response or safety data exist in any species. This profile carries no injectable or topical-use framing beyond what the cited study actually did, because no source located here supports one.
AHK-Cu FAQ
What is AHK-Cu?
AHK-Cu is L-alanyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine-copper(II), a synthetic tripeptide-copper complex — three amino acids (alanine, histidine, lysine) bound to a copper ion. It is marketed to hair-care formulators and to research buyers as a follicle-stimulating ingredient, distinct from the better-known copper peptide GHK-Cu.
Is AHK-Cu the same as GHK-Cu?
No. GHK-Cu (glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine-copper) is a different tripeptide-copper complex with its own, separate evidence base, including human trial data. AHK-Cu substitutes alanine for glycine at the first position, which is a different molecule with a different, much thinner literature. This profile does not extend GHK-Cu's evidence to AHK-Cu.
Is AHK-Cu FDA-approved?
No. AHK-Cu is not an approved drug. Material sold by research peptide vendors is labelled for laboratory use only.
What does the research on AHK-Cu actually show?
One study was located: a 2007 laboratory report that applied AHK-Cu to human hair follicles cultured ex vivo (organ culture, not living subjects) and to cultured human dermal papilla cells. It found AHK-Cu stimulated hair-follicle elongation and dermal-papilla-cell proliferation, and reduced markers of apoptosis in those cells. No human trial, no human observational report and no animal study of AHK-Cu was located.
Is AHK-Cu injected?
Prof. Peptide located no published study of an injected, oral or otherwise systemic route for AHK-Cu. The one study located applied it directly to cultured follicles and cells in a dish. Research vendors sell it as a lyophilised vial, the same presentation used for injectable research peptides, but that is a packaging fact and not evidence of a studied route.
References
- Pyo HK, Yoo HG, Won CH, Lee SH, Kang YJ, Eun HC, Cho KH, Kim KH. The effect of tripeptide-copper complex on human hair growth in vitro. Arch Pharm Res. 2007;30(7):834-839. doi:10.1007/BF02978833. PMID 17703734. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17703734/
Published Studies
A plain-English summary of the one peer-reviewed study located for AHK-Cu. Click the title to read the source paper.
Pyo HK, Yoo HG, Won CH, Lee SH, Kang YJ, Eun HC, Cho KH, Kim KH.
A laboratory study, not a clinical trial. Human hair follicles were cultured ex vivo (organ culture, isolated from the body) and human dermal papilla cells (DPCs, specialized fibroblasts that drive follicle growth) were cultured separately. AHK-Cu at 10⁻¹²–10⁻⁹ M stimulated elongation of the cultured follicles and proliferation of the DPCs. Flow cytometry on DPCs treated with 10⁻⁹ M AHK-Cu showed a reduction in apoptotic cells (not statistically significant), a higher Bcl-2/Bax ratio and lower levels of cleaved caspase-3 and PARP — markers consistent with reduced programmed cell death. The authors propose AHK-Cu promotes follicle growth by stimulating DPC proliferation and limiting DPC apoptosis. No living animal or human subject was dosed.
We may earn commissions from peptide vendor affiliate links.
Have a question about AHK-Cu? Send us an email