No. Matrixyl, SNAP-8, and [GHK-Cu](/product/ghk-cu) are not the same peptide, and none of them is a strength of the others. Purchasing lumps them together because all three appear in cosmetic-research catalogues. The sequences do not overlap.
Matrixyl on this catalogue is palmitoyl pentapeptide-4, also called Pal-KTTKS: palmitoyl-Lys-Thr-Thr-Lys-Ser, CAS 214047-00-4. The palmitoyl chain is part of the identity. Unmodified KTTKS, without that chain, is a different substance. The only fill is Matrixyl 10mg. See the Matrixyl monograph and Matrixyl for laboratories.
SNAP-8 is acetyl octapeptide-3. The sequence printed here is Ac-Glu-Glu-Met-Gln-Arg-Arg-Ala-Asp-NH2. CAS 868844-74-0. The amide formula used with that CAS is C41H70N16O16S, about 1075.16 g/mol. A second public calculation lands nearer 1034 Da. This page does not invent a purity to hide that disagreement. The lot record is the mass that counts for a received unit. SNAP-8 is two residues longer than acetyl hexapeptide-8, the peptide sold under the name Argireline. Argireline papers are not a SNAP-8 certificate. The fill is SNAP-8 10mg. The monograph is SNAP-8, and the ordering page is SNAP-8 for laboratories.
GHK-Cu is the copper(II) complex of the tripeptide Gly-His-Lys. CAS 89030-95-5. Molecular weight 403.92 g/mol. Formula C14H22CuN6O4. The complex is blue-green, whether it is a vial cake or raw powder. That colour is the easiest receiving clue on this page, and it is still not a certificate. Fills are 50 mg, 100 mg, and raw powder at 1 g and 20 g, under GHK-Cu. GHK-Cu 50 mg versus 100 mg is about fill size of this one compound. AHK-Cu versus GHK-Cu is the one-residue copper-peptide pair. Neither comparison is Matrixyl or SNAP-8.
| Matrixyl | SNAP-8 | GHK-Cu | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kind | Lipopeptide | Acetylated octapeptide | Copper tripeptide |
| Sequence | Pal-Lys-Thr-Thr-Lys-Ser | Ac-Glu-Glu-Met-Gln-Arg-Arg-Ala-Asp-NH2 | Gly-His-Lys, copper complex |
| CAS | 214047-00-4 | 868844-74-0 | 89030-95-5 |
| Appearance | White lyophilized powder | White lyophilized powder | Blue-green cake or powder |
| Catalogue | 10 mg | 10 mg | 50 mg, 100 mg, and raw powder |
What the shared label hides
“Skin peptide”, “cosmetic peptide”, and “copper peptide” are search phrases, not identities. GHK-Cu is the only copper complex of the three. Matrixyl is a collagen-fragment lipopeptide. SNAP-8 is an acetylated SNAP-25 related octapeptide. A topical study of one of them does not identify the other two, and it is not a product claim for the vial on the bench.
AHK-Cu is a fourth name, not part of this trio
It is the copper complex of Ala-His-Lys, not Gly-His-Lys. If a vial labelled GHK-Cu arrives without the blue-green colour the product record describes, or a white powder is labelled as the copper complex, quarantine it and reconcile the label to the lot. Colour supports the paperwork. It does not replace it.
Receiving without mixing the certificates
Match the invoice string to the glass:
- Matrixyl or palmitoyl pentapeptide-4, 10 mg, CAS 214047-00-4 when the certificate prints a registry number.
- SNAP-8 or acetyl octapeptide-3, 10 mg, CAS 868844-74-0. Do not file an Argireline chromatogram here.
- GHK-Cu, with the fill that was ordered. A 50 mg certificate does not release 100 mg, and neither releases raw powder. A GHK-Cu certificate does not release Matrixyl or SNAP-8.
Then match the lot in batch verification. How to read a peptide COA covers the fields. Hold unpublished lots through a documentation request.
All three ship as sealed lyophilized research material, stored at 2–8 °C and protected from light. UAE dispatch is the same cold-chain practice as the rest of the catalogue: sign, then move the parcel. Prices are in AED on the product pages, not on this comparison. Scope is in vitro laboratory research under the research use policy.
What this page will not decide
It will not rank the three for any cosmetic outcome. It will not turn a published topical study into a claim about these vials. Choose the sequence the method names, order that SKU, and keep the other two certificates in their own files.
