BPC-157: Structural Profile of a Gastric Pentadecapeptide

BPC-157 is a synthetic 15-amino-acid peptide catalogued in the chemical literature as a gastric pentadecapeptide. This profile documents its published identity, its amino-acid sequence, and its physical form as a research-use-only material. It makes no claims about biological activity and describes no use.

Identity at a glance

For a research chemical, the identity record is the primary way one material is distinguished from another and from unrelated compounds sold under similar trade names. The fields below are drawn from public chemical registries and should be treated as the reference set a laboratory checks incoming material against.

Field Value
Compound class Gastric pentadecapeptide
CAS number 137525-51-0
Molecular formula C62H98N16O22
Molecular weight 1419.5 g/mol
Amino-acid count 15 residues
FDA UNII 8ED8NXK95P
PubChem CID 9941957
InChIKey HEEWEZGQMLZMFE-RKGINYAYSA-N
Synonyms Bepecin, PL-10
Reported purity 99.9%
Physical form White lyophilized powder
Salt form Acetate
Storage -20 °C, protected from light

Sequence and composition

BPC-157 is reported with the sequence Gly-Glu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Ala-Asp-Asp-Ala-Gly-Leu-Val, written from the N-terminus on the left to the C-terminus on the right. In single-letter notation that reads GEPPPGKPADDAGLV. Fifteen residues place it in the pentadecapeptide range, and the composition is dominated by small and acidic residues: three glycine units, two alanine units, and two aspartate units, alongside a single lysine that carries the only strongly basic side chain.

The proline run

The most distinctive structural feature is the block of three consecutive proline residues at positions three, four, and five. Proline is the only proteinogenic amino acid whose side chain loops back to the backbone nitrogen, which constrains the local backbone geometry. From an identity standpoint, a proline-rich stretch is worth noting because it influences how the peptide behaves during synthesis and analysis, and because miscounting the proline block is a common transcription error when a sequence is copied by hand rather than read from a certificate.

Physical form and laboratory handling

The material is supplied as a white lyophilized (freeze-dried) powder in the acetate salt form. Lyophilized peptides are generally handled cold and dry: the vial is held at low temperature, kept sealed, and protected from light and moisture until a laboratory prepares it for work. This profile does not provide reconstitution amounts, concentrations per subject, schedules, or routes, because those fall outside the scope of an identity document. What belongs here is the storage guidance for the sealed powder, which is -20 °C in the dark, and the packaged sizes offered for research, which are 5 mg and 10 mg.

Reading the identifiers

Each identifier in the table above answers a different question, and a careful researcher confirms several of them rather than relying on a single label.

  • CAS 137525-51-0 is the registry number that ties the name to a defined substance across catalogues and safety documents.
  • C62H98N16O22, 1419.5 g/mol is the elemental composition and calculated mass, which a mass-spectrometry identity check is compared against.
  • InChIKey HEEWEZGQMLZMFE-RKGINYAYSA-N is a hashed structure key useful for database lookups and de-duplication.
  • UNII 8ED8NXK95P is the unique ingredient identifier assigned in the FDA substance registration system.
  • PubChem CID 9941957 links the record to the public structure and property entry.

Advanced Sequence supplies BPC-157 as a research-use-only reference material. You can review the sample certificate fields on the lab results page, see the packaged sizes on the BPC-157 product listing, and browse related identity write-ups in the peptide profiles archive. Any certificate values shown across the site are illustrative examples of the fields a real certificate of analysis would carry, not a specific released lot.

Distinguishing BPC-157 from similar listings

Several materials circulate under names close to BPC-157, and the identity record is what keeps them apart at receiving. The descriptor “stable gastric pentadecapeptide” is sometimes attached to modified or salt-variant preparations that are not identical to the acetate powder described here. Two habits reduce the risk of a mismatch. First, confirm the CAS number and the full residue sequence together, since a shared class name does not guarantee a shared structure. Second, check the counterion: this material is supplied as the acetate salt, and the acetate is a separate species associated with the peptide rather than part of the 15-residue chain, so a net-peptide-content figure on a certificate can differ from the gross powder mass.

Name, code, and synonym

BPC-157 appears in the literature and in catalogues under the synonyms Bepecin and PL-10, among others. Synonyms are convenient but weak identifiers on their own, because they are applied inconsistently across sources. When a synonym is the only label on a document, the responsible step is to resolve it back to a registry number and a sequence before treating two listings as the same compound. The same caution applies to the amino-acid string itself: copying fifteen residues by hand is error-prone, and the triple-proline block in particular is easy to mistranscribe as two prolines or four.

What this profile does not cover

This is an identity document, so it stops at structure, composition, physical form, and storage of the sealed powder. It does not state or imply that BPC-157 treats, improves, or affects any condition, body, or outcome, and it gives no preparation amounts, concentrations, schedules, or routes. Those exclusions are deliberate. A structural profile earns trust precisely by staying inside the boundary of what can be documented from public registries and a certificate of analysis. Questions about measurement, such as how a purity percentage is generated and read, belong to the separate lab-standards notes rather than to an identity write-up, and questions about biological activity belong to the primary literature rather than to a supplier profile.

Common questions

What is the CAS number for BPC-157?

BPC-157 is registered under CAS number 137525-51-0. That number ties the name to a defined substance across chemical catalogues and safety documents, which is why it belongs on any research certificate of analysis.

How many amino acids are in BPC-157?

BPC-157 is a pentadecapeptide, meaning it has 15 amino-acid residues. Its reported sequence is Gly-Glu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Ala-Asp-Asp-Ala-Gly-Leu-Val, which in single-letter code reads GEPPPGKPADDAGLV.

How is lyophilized BPC-157 stored in a lab?

As a sealed lyophilized powder it is held at -20 degrees Celsius, protected from light and moisture. This profile documents storage of the powder only and does not cover preparation amounts, concentrations, or routes.

References

GHK-Cu: Profile of a Copper-Binding Tripeptide

GHK-Cu is a coordination complex in which a copper(II) ion is bound by the tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine (Gly-His-Lys). This profile documents its published identity, its metal binding, and its physical form as a research-use-only material, and makes no claims about biological activity or use.

Identity at a glance

GHK-Cu is a two-part identity: the peptide backbone and the metal it carries. Because the copper is part of what defines the material, the identity record needs to capture both. The fields below come from public chemical registries.

Field Value
Compound class Copper tripeptide complex
CAS number (complex) 89030-95-5
Molecular formula C14H22CuN6O4
Molecular weight 401.9 g/mol
Sequence Gly-His-Lys, coordinating one Cu(II) ion (1:1)
INCI name Copper tripeptide-1
PubChem CID (complex) 378611
Free peptide GHK CAS 49557-75-7
Reported purity 99.6%
Physical form Blue lyophilized powder

Sequence and copper coordination

The peptide part is short: three residues, glycine then histidine then lysine, running N-terminus to C-terminus. What sets GHK-Cu apart from a plain tripeptide is that it is described in the literature as a copper(II) complex, with the metal ion held by the peptide at roughly a one-to-one ratio. The histidine imidazole and the peptide backbone nitrogens provide the coordinating atoms typical of this class of copper-peptide chemistry.

Why the material is blue

The characteristic blue color of the solid is a direct consequence of the bound copper(II). Colored transition-metal complexes absorb part of the visible spectrum, and for many copper(II) species that absorption sits in the red to orange region, leaving a blue appearance. For identity purposes the color is a useful first-pass observation: a copper tripeptide preparation that arrives as a white powder is worth questioning against its certificate.

Two CAS numbers, one family

A frequent point of confusion is that GHK-Cu is associated with more than one registry number. The copper complex carries CAS 89030-95-5, while the free (uncomplexed) tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine carries CAS 49557-75-7. They are related but not interchangeable: one includes the metal and one does not, and a certificate should make clear which material is in the vial. On the public structure side, the copper complex is recorded under PubChem CID 378611.

Physical form and laboratory handling

Advanced Sequence supplies GHK-Cu as a blue lyophilized powder in 50 mg and 100 mg sizes. As with other lyophilized peptides, the sealed powder is handled cold and dry and protected from light and moisture. This profile does not provide reconstitution amounts, concentrations per subject, schedules, or routes; those are outside the scope of an identity document. For the general chemistry of freeze-drying and rehydrating peptide solids, see the write-up on Sequence Notes.

You can review sample certificate fields on the lab results page and see packaged sizes on the GHK-Cu product listing. Certificate figures shown anywhere on the site are illustrative examples of the fields a real certificate of analysis carries, not a specific released lot the reader can purchase.

Reading the identifiers

Confirming a copper-peptide identity means checking the peptide sequence, the metal, and the salt or complex form together rather than trusting the name alone. The formula C14H22CuN6O4 encodes the copper explicitly, the INCI name Copper tripeptide-1 is the cosmetic-ingredient label for the same molecule, and the two CAS numbers separate the complex from the free peptide. Advanced Sequence positions this material strictly as a research-use-only reference compound, not as a cosmetic or consumer product.

Copper content as a separate specification

Because GHK-Cu is a metal complex, a complete specification treats the peptide and the copper as two things to confirm rather than one. A certificate for the complex commonly reports peptide purity by HPLC alongside a copper-content figure, since a preparation could in principle carry the correct peptide with too little or too much associated copper. Reading only the peptide purity, and ignoring the copper specification, would give an incomplete picture of a copper-tripeptide material.

Why the 1:1 ratio matters for identity

The complex is described with copper held by the peptide at roughly a one-to-one ratio. That stoichiometry, together with the two backbone protons the copper(II) ion displaces on binding, is what the molecular formula C14H22CuN6O4 encodes, which is why the copper appears explicitly in the formula rather than as an afterthought. When a document lists a copper tripeptide but leaves the metal out of the formula, that is a prompt to check whether the material in the vial is the complex or the uncomplexed peptide.

Confirming the material at receiving

A practical receiving check for a copper-tripeptide reference material runs through three observations that should agree with the certificate. The powder should be blue rather than white, which is the visible sign of bound copper(II). The stated CAS number should be the complex number, 89030-95-5, and not the free-peptide number, 49557-75-7. And the formula on the paperwork should include copper. Any one of these failing is reason to hold the material and question the document rather than to assume the name on the label is correct.

What this profile does not cover

As an identity document, this profile stops at structure, coordination, physical form, and the fields a certificate would carry. It makes no claim that GHK-Cu treats, improves, or affects any condition, body, or outcome, and it gives no preparation amounts, concentrations, schedules, or routes. The blue color, the copper specification, and the two CAS numbers are all identity facts; none of them is a statement about use.

Keeping identity and use strictly separate is the whole point of a profile like this. A researcher can rely on the copper specification, the color, and the registry numbers to confirm what arrived, and can look elsewhere, in the primary literature, for any question about what the compound has been studied in relation to.

Common questions

What is the difference between GHK and GHK-Cu?

GHK is the free tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine, CAS 49557-75-7. GHK-Cu is the same peptide coordinated to a copper(II) ion, CAS 89030-95-5. A certificate should state which of the two is in the vial.

Why is GHK-Cu blue?

The blue color comes from the bound copper(II) ion. Copper(II) complexes absorb part of the visible spectrum, often in the red to orange region, which leaves a blue appearance. A white copper-tripeptide powder is worth questioning against its certificate.

What is the molecular formula of the GHK-Cu complex?

The copper complex is recorded with the molecular formula C14H22CuN6O4 and PubChem CID 378611. The formula includes the copper atom explicitly, which distinguishes the complex from the free GHK peptide.

References