Updated August 2026
GHK Basic Dosage: Research Protocol, Reconstitution, and Evidence
Research note: “GHK Basic” is the copper-free Gly-His-Lys tripeptide — not the preformed GHK-Cu complex. No administered human dose-finding trial was identified. Human-cell, animal, and community-reported protocols are separated throughout this page.
No standardized human dosage exists. The most relevant human evidence is not a dosing trial: researchers exposed human lung fibroblasts to 10 nM GHK for 48 hours (≈3.4 ng/mL in medium) and observed collagen-gel remodeling restoration — a cell concentration, not a person dose.
Community injection protocols most often cluster around 0.5–2 mg per administration (2–5×/week through daily, commonly 4–8 weeks). A reproducible lower-exposure research design uses 1 mg, five days per week, for six weeks (30 administrations; 30 mg cumulative), then four weeks off — a proposed pilot, not a validated treatment.
“Basic” does not mean alkaline. It means the apo (metal-free) tripeptide. Free base and acetate labels can produce different peptide-equivalent amounts (~0.85 mg peptide per 1 mg monoacetate if the label is total salt mass). A 50 mg vial to 2.5 mL = 20 mg/mL (1 mg = 5 U-100 units).
GHK Basic dosage in 30 seconds
| Question | Research summary |
|---|---|
| Defined compound | Copper-free Gly-His-Lys (Tripeptide-1 / prezatide) |
| Human administered dose | None identified |
| Human-cell exposure | 10 nM × 48 h; 1 nM dermal-fibroblast research |
| Most repeated community amount | ≈0.5–2 mg per administration |
| Proposed pilot | 1 mg · 5×/week · 6 weeks (30 mg cumulative) |
| Common recon math | 50 mg → 2.5 mL = 20 mg/mL (1 mg = 5 units) |
| ≠ GHK-Cu | White apo peptide vs blue copper complex |
| Human PK / long-term safety | Not established |
What is GHK Basic?
GHK Basic is glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine (H-Gly-His-Lys-OH), also called Tripeptide-1 or prezatide. “Basic” is a marketplace convention distinguishing copper-free GHK from blue GHK-Cu — not a statement about pH or salt form.
The free peptide is a strong metal-binding ligand and can form GHK-Cu in the presence of copper(II) under defined conditions. That chemistry does not prove how much of an administered copper-free dose becomes GHK-Cu in a living human.
Identity gate
Confirm copper-free GHK — not GHK-Cu, unclear Tripeptide-1 stocks, or unresolved salt mass
Matches GHK Basic identity on this page
Apo Gly-His-Lys (~340.38 g/mol free base). “Basic” means metal-free — not alkaline pH. Confirm sequence, free base vs acetate assay basis, and elemental copper to verify the material is not partially complexed.
GHK Basic vs acetate vs GHK-Cu
| Material | Contains | Approx. MW | Typical appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
| GHK free base | Metal-free Gly-His-Lys | 340.38 g/mol | White to off-white |
| GHK monoacetate | GHK + acetate counterion | 400.43 g/mol | White to off-white |
| GHK-Cu | GHK coordinated to Cu(II) | ~402–403 g/mol (common 1-Cu form) | Blue to blue-violet |
Why salt form and copper distinction matter
If a vial is pure GHK monoacetate labeled as total salt mass, peptide moiety ≈ 85% (340.38 ÷ 400.43). Conversely, 1 mg free-GHK equivalent ≈ 1.176 mg pure monoacetate. Apply corrections only when the COA confirms salt-basis labeling.
A white GHK vial should not be called “copper peptide” merely because the sequence can bind copper. Topical GHK-Cu cream results cannot establish an injected GHK Basic dose.
Salt ↔ peptide math
Theoretical monoacetate conversion — apply only when COA reports total salt mass
Peptide moiety
0.850 mg
Acetate-associated
0.150 mg
≈85% peptide if label is pure monoacetate salt mass (340.38/400.43). Do not apply if the COA already reports peptide-equivalent content.
What human evidence exists for copper-free GHK?
No controlled study was identified in which people received a defined copper-free GHK dose by SC, intradermal, intranasal, oral, or clearly characterized topical routes. Bioavailability, SC absorption, PK, metal-complex fraction, dose-response, MTD, optimal frequency, efficacy, and AE incidence remain unknown.
Plasma GHK observations (e.g., COPD vs controls; age-related concentration summaries) are not treatment trials and should not be converted into a replacement injection dose.
Human evidence status
No administered human dose-finding trial — cell and community layers only
- Administered human dose-finding trial
- None identified
- Human SC / topical / oral / IN trial dose
- None identified
- Human-cell exposure
- 10 nM × 48 h (COPD fibroblasts); 1 nM dermal fibroblasts
- Human pharmacokinetics
- Not established
- Most repeated community injection
- ≈0.5–2 mg per administration
- Proposed lower-exposure pilot
- 1 mg free-GHK eq · 5×/week · 6 weeks (30 mg cumulative)
- Long-term systemic safety
- Not established
- Strongest direct evidence
- Cell and animal research — not human intervention trials
Selected human-cell exposures (not person doses)
| Study | Exposure | Finding | Does not establish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell et al. (COPD fibroblasts) | 10 nM × 48 h | Restored collagen-gel remodeling | Human dose, route, safety, or clinical benefit |
| Gruchlik et al. (dermal fibroblasts) | 1 nM | Affected IGF-2-dependent TGF-β1 secretion | Skin efficacy or systemic dosing |
Registered wound study NCT07437586 uses 0.1% GHK-Cu gel — not GHK Basic. Topical GHK reviews note promising cellular data but inadequate clinical studies and formulation/permeability uncertainty.
GHK Basic research dosage range
Because human dosing is unestablished, separate animal protocols, cell concentrations, and community conventions. No community injection schedule overlaps an administered human trial.
Evidence split
Published experiments vs proposed pilot vs community milligram schedules
Published copper-free GHK experiments
Cell + animal — no administered human dose
- Human administration
- None identified
- Dose
- 1–10 nM cells; endpoint-specific animal mg/kg or µg/kg
- Route
- Primarily IP in animals; culture exposure
- Duration
- Minutes to ~21 days in most direct studies
- Outcome
- Remodeling, fibrosis, behavior, injury, immune models
- Dose-response
- Only within individual preclinical models
Proposed lower-exposure pilot
Hypothesis-generating · not a validated therapy
- Dose
- 1 mg free-GHK equivalent
- Frequency
- Five days weekly
- Duration
- Six weeks + four weeks follow-up
- Cumulative
- 30 mg (30 administrations)
- Escalation
- None
- Basis
- Lower end of repeated community 1–2 mg range
Community / commercial reports
Anecdotal · no human dose-ranging source
- Dose
- Usually 0.5–2 mg; sometimes up to 5 mg
- Frequency
- 2–3×/week through daily
- Route
- Primarily SC; topical also reported
- Duration
- Usually 4–8 weeks
- Washout convention
- ~4 weeks
- Established dose-response
- No
Commonly reported protocols
| Context | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower community injection | 0.5–1 mg | 2–3×/week to daily | 4–6 weeks | Anecdotal / commercial |
| Common community injection | 1–2 mg | Daily, EOD, or 5×/week | 4–8 weeks | Repeated online; no dose-ranging source |
| Higher community injection | 3–5 mg | Usually daily | ~10 days–6 weeks | Inconsistent; higher cumulative exposure |
| Copper-free topical convention | 0.05–0.5% | 1–2× daily | 8–12 weeks | Formulation convention; clinical efficacy unestablished |
| Higher topical claims | 1–2% | 1–2× daily | 8–12 weeks | Often merges GHK with GHK-Cu |
| Intranasal claims | 0.1–0.5 mg | 1–3× daily | Variable | Insufficient — no human GHK Basic IN trial |
Complete fixed-dose research protocol (proposed pilot)
Supervised, placebo-controlled feasibility concept anchored to the lower community range — not reproduced from a human trial and not a treatment recommendation.
Material: copper-free H-Gly-His-Lys-OH at 1 mg free-GHK equivalent per administration (exclude GHK-Cu, cosmetic stocks, and unlabeled milligram vials). Schedule: 5 days weekly × 6 weeks (30 mg cumulative), then 4 weeks follow-up. Escalation: none. Missed doses are skipped — not doubled.
Proposed pilot
1 mg free-GHK equivalent · 5×/week · 6 weeks · then 4 weeks off
Weeks 1–2
1 mg free-GHK equivalent
Five days weekly · weekly 5 mg · phase 10 mg
Early tolerability — no automatic escalation
30 administrations · 30 mg cumulative free-GHK equivalent · no escalation · missed doses skipped (not doubled). Anchored to community range — not a validated treatment.
If the vial is total pure monoacetate mass, 30 mg free-GHK equivalent ≈ 35.3 mg monoacetate salt theoretically — use batch assay, not MW ratio alone. First-in-human work would ordinarily require toxicology, formulation, PK, and regulatory review before dose selection.
Published animal and cell research dosages
Animal copper-free GHK doses span orders of magnitude: single 0.5–50 µg/kg IP (rat behavior), 1 or 10 mg/kg IP (ICH rats), pulmonary-fibrosis preparations deriving ~1.3–130 µg/mouse, and 7.5 mg/kg BID × 5 days (aged mice, sleep deprivation — 15 mg/kg/day, 75 mg/kg cumulative).
These answer different experimental questions and primarily use intraperitoneal routes — not SC community schedules. This page intentionally omits casual human-equivalent-dose tables that could falsely validate human administration.
For a directly evidence-linked nonclinical experiment, Campbell’s 10 nM × 48 h fibroblast protocol is clearer than an injectable community schedule.
Reconstitution and concentration math
Arithmetic references for controlled research preparation — not sterility, stability, diluent suitability, or route justification. U-100 markings are volume (1 unit = 0.01 mL).
Common reference: 50 mg → 2.5 mL = 20 mg/mL → 1 mg = 5 units, 2 mg = 10 units. Confirm vial capacity before assuming large final volumes.
50 mg vial reconstitution
2 / 2.5 / 3 / 5 mL presets — units are volume, not peptide dose
Final volume
20.00 mg/mL · 0.200 mg per U-100 unit
0.050 mL · 5.0 units
Matches common reference: 1 mg = 5 units at 2.5 mL.
Same-units problem
“Take 10 units” is incomplete without vial content and final volume
| Preparation | Concentration | Amount in 10 units |
|---|---|---|
| 50 mg → 2 mL | 25 mg/mL | 2.5 mg |
| 50 mg → 2.5 mL | 20 mg/mL | 2.0 mg |
| 50 mg → 3 mL | 16.67 mg/mL | 1.67 mg |
| 50 mg → 5 mL | 10 mg/mL | 1.0 mg |
Topical GHK Basic concentration math
Copper-free topical conventions are less clinically developed than GHK-Cu cosmetics. Defensible formulation screening often discusses 0.05–0.5%; 1–2% claims frequently fail to distinguish GHK from GHK-Cu.
Applied mass matters: 0.1% at 0.25 g delivers 0.25 mg to the skin surface — not how much reaches viable tissue. Hydrophilicity limits passive barrier crossing; copper complexation and vehicles can change permeation.
Finished product concentration examples
| Concentration | Peptide per gram | For 50 g product | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.05% | 0.5 mg/g | 25 mg | Lower supplier/community convention |
| 0.1% | 1 mg/g | 50 mg | Common formulation reference |
| 0.5% | 5 mg/g | 250 mg | Upper more-defensible copper-free convention |
| 1% | 10 mg/g | 500 mg | Often claimed; clinical superiority unestablished |
Mechanism themes under investigation
Reported actions involve metal coordination, extracellular-matrix remodeling, TGF-β/fibrosis-related signaling (context-dependent), antioxidant/aldehyde-quenching chemistry, and broad gene-expression associations. “Resets thousands of genes” summaries do not establish that a particular injection dose reverses aging.
Intranasal cognitive programs frequently cited online often used GHK-Cu, not copper-free GHK Basic.
Safety and adverse effects
Without controlled administered-human studies, AE percentages are unknown. Local reactions may reflect formulation/technique as much as the peptide. A rodent immunology program reported dose-dependent immune suppression at high IP mg/kg exposures — not community-dose incidence, but evidence against automatic “endogenous = inert” claims.
GHK Basic adds no copper atom in the vial but can bind metals. Exclude pregnancy/breastfeeding, active/recent cancer or unexplained masses, and copper-metabolism disorders from unsupervised experimentation.
Safety monitoring
Incidence unknown — track local reactions, hypersensitivity, immune/liver signals, and product identity
- Human AE incidence
- Unknown — no controlled administered-human safety dataset
- Local reactions
- Community mentions include stinging, redness, swelling, itching, bruising, nodules — cause may be formulation/technique
- Immune modulation
- Rodent IP program showed dose-dependent immune suppression at high mg/kg — not community-dose incidence, but contradicts “inert endogenous peptide” claims
- Copper handling
- Apo peptide can still bind metals — “copper-free vial” ≠ biologically copper-irrelevant
- Product risks
- Wrong identity (GHK-Cu vs Basic), assay basis errors, endotoxin, sterility, particulates
Storage and stability
Use batch-specific stability data. A frequently repeated 28-day refrigerated window is a handling convention — not demonstrated for every preparation. Blue color in a supposed GHK Basic solution suggests copper complexation or contamination and should be investigated.
Freezing may slow degradation but does not restore sterility. Prefer validated single-dose or aliquot designs over unsupported multiweek reuse.
Combining GHK Basic with other compounds
No controlled human study was identified for GHK Basic with BPC-157, TB-500, GHK-Cu, KPV, GH secretagogues, or injectable vitamins. Same-vial blends should not be assumed compatible. Adding copper intentionally can partially convert apo peptide without guaranteeing a clean 1:1 complex.
Common claims vs evidence
Claim checker
Common GHK Basic claims vs the evidence record
GHK Basic and GHK-Cu are the same dose and evidence
False
Same backbone, different starting materials. Equal milligrams are not equal moles, and topical GHK-Cu data do not validate injected GHK Basic.
Dosage evidence ladder
Dosage evidence ladder
Overall GHK Basic dosing evidence: poorly established
| Level | What exists | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Standardized drug dosage | None | None |
| Administered human clinical-trial dosing | None identified | None |
| Human observational exposure | Endogenous plasma measurements only | Low relevance to exogenous dosing |
| Human-cell dosing | 1–10 nM in selected fibroblast experiments | Moderate for narrow mechanisms |
| Animal systemic dosing | Multiple endpoint-specific protocols | Moderate for those models; low for human dose selection |
| Topical copper-free GHK protocol | Mostly formulation and community conventions (~0.05–0.5%) | Low |
| Injectable community protocol | Commonly 0.5–2 mg (broader 0.1–5 mg claims) | Very low |
| Long-term systemic dosing | None established | None |
GHK Basic dosing is poorly established. Report community milligram schedules transparently — do not treat them as clinical dosing.
Regulatory and sports status
No standardized FDA-approved dosage or indication exists. Cosmetic Tripeptide-1 use is not an injectable drug approval. GHK is not specifically named on the 2026 WADA list, but S0 may apply — obtain a sport-specific determination before exposure.
Bottom line
GHK Basic is copper-free Gly-His-Lys — chemically and evidentially distinct from blue GHK-Cu. No administered human dose study establishes a protocol. Direct evidence is mainly 1–10 nM cell work and endpoint-specific animal schedules.
Community reports most often use 0.5–2 mg per administration. A complete lower-exposure pilot can fix 1 mg five days weekly for six weeks (30 mg cumulative) plus four weeks observation — improving reproducibility without validating the dose.
For vial math, 50 mg → 2.5 mL = 20 mg/mL (1 mg = 5 units; 2 mg = 10 units) only if label, salt form, peptide assay, and final volume are known.
Biggest mistakes: treating GHK Basic, acetate salt mass, and GHK-Cu as the same evidence base — and reporting syringe units without vial amount and final volume.
Frequently asked questions
Is GHK Basic the same as GHK-Cu?
No. GHK Basic is the apo peptide without intentionally pre-complexed copper. GHK-Cu is a copper complex with different mass, color, chemistry, and evidence base.
What is the most commonly reported injection amount?
Approximately 0.5–2 mg per administration, with 1–2 mg daily or every other day frequently repeated. No human dose-finding study established that range.
What is the complete lower-range research protocol?
A proposed pilot uses 1 mg free-GHK equivalent five days per week for six weeks (30 administrations, 30 mg cumulative), then four weeks off. It is a formal-study design, not a validated treatment.
Has GHK Basic been studied subcutaneously in humans?
No controlled subcutaneous human study was identified. Direct animal studies primarily used intraperitoneal administration.
How many syringe units is 1 mg from a 50 mg vial?
It depends on final volume: 4 units at 2 mL, 5 units at 2.5 mL, 6 units at 3 mL, or 10 units at 5 mL on a U-100 syringe.
How much free GHK is in 1 mg of GHK monoacetate?
Theoretically about 0.85 mg based on 340.38/400.43 g/mol. Use the batch assay — some labels already report peptide-equivalent content.
Is GHK Basic safer than GHK-Cu because it has no copper?
That has not been demonstrated. It avoids adding pre-complexed copper but can still interact with endogenous metals; systemic safety data are absent for both forms.
What topical concentration is reported?
Copper-free formulation guides commonly report about 0.05–0.5%. One-to-two-percent claims often merge GHK with GHK-Cu without direct clinical validation.
Is intranasal GHK Basic clinically studied?
No human intranasal trial was identified. Cognitive mouse work often cited used GHK-Cu; copper-free sleep-deprivation work used intraperitoneal injections.
Does GHK Basic need dose escalation?
No evidence-based escalation schedule exists. Tolerance at a lower exposure does not prove a higher amount is needed or effective.
Is GHK Basic prohibited in tested sport?
It is not specifically named on the 2026 WADA list, but S0 may cover non-approved pharmacologic substances. Obtain a sport-specific determination before use.
What is the biggest dosing mistake?
Treating GHK Basic, GHK acetate, and GHK-Cu as the same mass and evidence base — and reporting syringe units without vial amount and final volume.
References
PubChem
Glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine (prezatide)Chemical identity and properties.
Campbell JD et al.
Emphysema-related gene signature and reversal by GHKGenome Medicine 2012 — 10 nM × 48 h fibroblast exposure.
Zhou XM et al.
GHK inhibits bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in miceFrontiers in Pharmacology 2017 — concentration-based IP series.
Rosenfeld M et al.
GHK prevents sleep-deprived learning impairment in aging mice2023 — 7.5 mg/kg IP BID × 5 days copper-free GHK.
Mortazavi SM et al.
Topically applied GHK as an anti-wrinkle peptideBioImpacts 2024/2025 — clinical and permeability gaps.
ClinicalTrials.gov
NCT07437586 — topical GHK-Cu gel wound studyGHK-Cu gel — not GHK Basic.
Smakhtin MY et al.
Tripeptide Gly-His-Lys is a hepatotropic immunosuppressor2002 rodent immunology — high mg/kg IP exposures.
WADA
2026 Prohibited ListNot specifically named; S0 may apply.