Thymalin vs GHK-Cu
Side-by-side comparison of Thymalin and GHK-Cu: mechanism, half-life, dose range, safety profile, and vendor pricing.
Price snapshot
Thymalin
GHK-Cu
Thymalin
Thymalin is a thymus-derived peptide complex developed in the 1970s by Vladimir Khavinson and the Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology as part of a broader program to identify…
Lowest listed price: $44.99 across 2 listings
Full Thymalin profileGHK-Cu
GHK-Cu is the copper(II) complex of the tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine, a molecule Pickart and Thaler first pulled out of human plasma in 1973. The free peptide (GHK, C14H24N6O4) weighs about 340.4 Da; bind it 1:1…
Lowest listed price: $34.99 across 7 listings
Full GHK-Cu profileSide-by-side comparison
| Attribute | Thymalin | GHK-Cu |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Peptides | Skin, Hair & Aesthetics |
| Research Stage | Clinical (Russia-registered; not FDA-approved) | Approved/marketed as a topical cosmetic ingredient (Copper tripeptide-1) with supporting small human studies. Injectable use is preclinical/off-label, research-use-only, with no human clinical trials. |
| Mechanism of Action | Thymalin's mechanism of action is less precisely defined than that of single-molecule peptides, because the active principle is a mixture of peptides acting through multiple parallel pathways rather than a single well-characterized molecular interaction. The… | GHK-Cu works mostly as a copper shuttle and a signaling peptide. It binds Cu(II) with high affinity (log K around 16.4, close to albumin's 16.2) and can supply or regulate copper for copper-dependent enzymes like SOD1, lysyl oxidase, cytochrome c oxidase, and… |
| Half-Life | Short for the individual peptides in the mixture (on the order of minutes to a few hours). Biological effects persist for weeks to months after a 10-day course, which is why Thymalin is given in discrete courses rather than continuously. | ~30-60 min (plasma; approximate legacy figure, no robust modern human PK study) |
| Typical Dose Range | 5-15 mg | 200-500 mcg SC daily (community/RUO; no clinically established injectable dose) |
| Dosing Frequency | Once daily during a 10-day course; courses repeated 1-4 times per year (commonly biannually). | Once daily subcutaneous; some run 5 days on / 2 days off. Topical: 1-2x daily to cleansed skin. |
| Administration | — | Subcutaneous, Topical |
| Side Effects | Thymalin has a substantial safety record spanning four decades of Russian clinical use across hundreds of thousands of patients, with a relatively clean side-effect profile compared to many immunomodulatory agents. Common side effects (1-10% incidence in… | Topical GHK-Cu is generally well tolerated; higher-concentration formulations (4-5%) raise the odds of irritation, redness, or stinging. Injectable use has no safety data from controlled trials; the main theoretical concern is copper accumulation with repeated… |
| Molecular Weight | Not a single value - Thymalin is a thymic polypeptide EXTRACT (a mixture), not one defined molecule; its components are low-molecular-weight peptides, generally under ~10 kDa. Characterized active dipeptides: KE (Lys-Glu, ~275 Da) and EW (Glu-Trp, ~333 Da). | Free peptide (GHK): 340.38 Da (C14H24N6O4). Copper complex (GHK-Cu): 401.9 Da (C14H22CuN6O4, neutral 1:1 Cu(II) complex). |
| Common Vial Sizes | — | 50 mg, 100 mg |
Price History
2 data points- Ion Peptide
- Disguised Alpha
Price History
4 data points- OF
- BM
- Half Nattys
- BHG Labs
Thymalin: potential benefits
- No structured benefit list published.
GHK-Cu: potential benefits
- Stimulates type I collagen synthesis in human fibroblasts at low nanomolar-to-picomolar concentrations (PMID: 3169264)
- Increases glycosaminoglycans (dermatan/chondroitin sulfate) and upregulates decorin in wound models (PMID: 11121126)
- Modulates matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors, partially correcting the MMP-9/TIMP-1 imbalance in a smoke-induced emphysema model (PMID: 35936787)
- Drives tissue remodeling and chemoattracts macrophages, mast cells, and capillary cells to injury sites (PMID: 18644225)
- Modulates expression of ~4,000+ human genes via the Broad Institute Connectivity Map, including DNA-repair and antioxidant genes (PMID: 25302294)
- Increases stemness and proliferative potential of epidermal basal cells and keratinocytes (PMID: 23019153)
- Acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory copper regulator in the context of aging (PMID: 22666519)
- Broad skin-regeneration effects on collagen, proteoglycans, MMPs, and immune/endothelial cell recruitment (PMID: 26236730)
Frequently asked
What's the difference between Thymalin and GHK-Cu?
Thymalin is a peptides that thymalin's mechanism of action is less precisely defined than that of single-molecule peptides, because the active principle is a mixture of peptides acting through multiple…. GHK-Cu is a skin, hair & aesthetics that ghk-cu works mostly as a copper shuttle and a signaling peptide. it binds cu(ii) with high affinity (log k around 16.4, close to albumin's 16.2) and can supply or regulate copper…. The two differ in mechanism, half-life (Short for the individual peptides in the mixture (on the order of minutes to a few hours). Biological effects persist for weeks to months after a 10-day course, which is why Thymalin is given in discrete courses rather than continuously. vs ~30-60 min (plasma; approximate legacy figure, no robust modern human PK study)), and typical dose range.
Which has the longer half-life, Thymalin or GHK-Cu?
Thymalin has a half-life of Short for the individual peptides in the mixture (on the order of minutes to a few hours). Biological effects persist for weeks to months after a 10-day course, which is why Thymalin is given in discrete courses rather than continuously.. GHK-Cu has a half-life of ~30-60 min (plasma; approximate legacy figure, no robust modern human PK study). Longer half-lives generally mean less frequent dosing but slower on/off kinetics.
Which is cheaper, Thymalin or GHK-Cu?
Lowest listed price on BodyHackGuide: Thymalin from $44.99, GHK-Cu from $34.99. Prices are pulled from the vendor listings tracked on BHG and change frequently. See the compare tables on each compound page for the current set of offers.
Can you stack Thymalin and GHK-Cu?
Stacking depends on mechanism overlap, safety profile, and goals. Thymalin and GHK-Cu should only be stacked after reviewing each compound's individual protocol page, side effect profile, and any published interaction data. Use the BodyHackGuide stack builder for a structured review before combining research compounds.
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Related comparisons
Research use only. BodyHackGuide is a research and price-comparison reference. The compounds discussed on this page are not approved by the FDA for human consumption and are sold strictly for laboratory research. Prices shown are pulled from vendor listings tracked on BHG and are subject to change. Every vendor is ranked on the same public, reproducible methodology. See editorial standards and affiliate disclosure.