This is a side-by-side of what is documented, not a ranking. Different compounds are studied for different things, in different people, at different amounts. A row that looks stronger for one compound does not make it the better choice for anyone.
| Ac-SDKP | GHK-Cu | |
|---|---|---|
| Highest evidence tier on the page | E3 Early human evidence Small, open-label, uncontrolled, case series, or a registered trial with no published results. | E2 Human clinical evidence Registered or peer-reviewed human trial with reported results. |
| Regulatory status | Not FDA-approved; not known to be in active clinical development; research/mechanistic-study compound | Not an approved drug; cleared for cosmetic use at industry concentrations |
| Research area | Tissue repair and recovery | Tissue repair and recovery |
| Regulator-approved dose on file | No approved dose | No approved dose |
| Molecular formula | C20H33N5O9 | C14H22CuN6O4 (neutral 1:1 complex); C14H24N6O4 for free GHK |
| Molar mass | Approximately 487.51 g/mol | About 401.9 g/mol for the 1:1 complex; 340.38 g/mol for free GHK |
| CAS number | 120081-14-3 | 89030-95-5 (complex); 49557-75-7 (free GHK) |
| Registered trials on this site | None linked yet | None linked yet |
| What is not known | No completed human clinical trial administering Ac-SDKP itself (at any dose or route) was identified in the sources reviewed for this entry. A 2006 published review (Cavasin, PMID 17083265) explicitly states no clinical trial data existed supporting its use for cardiac healing at that time,... | Whether the peptide is necessary or is simply carrying copper. The evidence contradicts itself in both directions and the one study that would settle it has not been followed up in fourteen years. Whether administered GHK-Cu survives intact in plasma, or immediately hands its copper... |
| Published trials covered on its page | Not stated | 3 |
| Amounts studied in those trials | Not stated | Bishop 1992: Topical tripeptide-copper complex 0.4 percent cream, against 1 percent silver sulfadiazine cream and against an inert vehicle Miller 2006: Topical copper tripeptide complex added to a post-procedure skin care regimen; concentration not disclosed for 12 weeks Kapoor 2018: Intradermal scalp injection of a six component formulation in which copper tripeptide-1 was one active; no amount of copper tripeptide-1 is stated for 8 sessions at 3 week intervals As reported on the compound page. Amounts are not comparable between compounds. |
Full pages: Ac-SDKP and GHK-Cu. See also the clinical trial tracker and how we grade evidence.
Educational reference, not medical advice. Trial data from ClinicalTrials.gov. Everything else is drawn from the compound pages on this site, each of which cites its sources.
