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Copper coordinated by a lysine/proline amino-acid pair
Overview
Copper Lysinate/Prolinate is a copper(II) coordination active built not on a peptide but on a pair of free amino acids — the copper salt of a lysine-and-proline mixture, INCI Copper Lysinate/Prolinate, CAS 1613132-70-9. It is the copper-amino-acid counterpart to Cupratec's copper-peptide line and sits naturally inside the coordination-chemistry remit: where GHK-Cu seats Cu(II) in a histidine-anchored peptide pocket, this active delivers copper through amino-acid carboxylate-and-amine donors, a simpler and well-defined chelation motif marketed by its originator within the Neodermyl complex. For a formulator the appeal is a copper carrier with a different ligand field and a different solubility and stability envelope from the peptide complexes — a second tool in the copper toolbox rather than a substitute for the tripeptides. Cupratec supplies it strictly as a cosmetic active; efficacy and any cosmetic claim a finished product makes are the brand's responsibility under its destination-market rules. Cupratec characterises the amino-acid complex on the same copper bench as the peptides. Each lot carries a quantified copper-content figure by atomic absorption with the copper-to-ligand relationship reported as-found, a UV-Vis trace through the visible region to log the Cu(II) d-d signature for this ligand set, identity and ligand-ratio confirmation, and a CIELAB ΔE colour reference so an ingredient-house QC group has a colour anchor for incoming lots. Because the chromophore here is a copper-amino-acid one rather than the copper-peptide band near 622 nm, the visible signature is logged against an internal Copper Lysinate/Prolinate master rather than against the GHK-Cu reference. Fills are 50 mg and 100 mg lyophilized vials, with gram-scale lots on the same documentation pack for contract-monograph development. The copper-content and colour discipline that governs the peptide complexes applies here too — see our Cu²⁺ : peptide ratio field note.
Who buys this, and why
Cosmetic-peptide buyers fall into two groups: established beauty / med-aesthetic brands extending an existing line, and private-label clients building a catalog from scratch. The first group usually wants lyophilized peptide material plus stability data in their existing carrier matrix; the second usually wants a finished formulation under their label. Both need INCI naming verified, regulator-specific safety files (CPNP for EU, FDA OTC monograph for US where relevant), and packaging-compatibility data.
Primary buyer fit: medical aesthetic clinics and med spas, regional distributors and re-sellers, and academic and contract research laboratories.
Specifications
Documentation available on request
Regulatory note
Copper Lysinate/Prolinate is supplied as a cosmetic-grade INCI ingredient (Copper Lysinate/Prolinate), a copper-amino-acid coordination active, not for compounded human-use preparations. Cosmetic-grade material available for beauty private-label brands and finished-product formulators worldwide; INCI name supplied on SDS for cosmetic-notification workflows (CPNP in EU, equivalent registries elsewhere). Finished-product cosmetic claims are the brand's to substantiate under its destination-market rules.
Frequently asked questions
The metal is the same — Cu(II) — but the ligand that holds it is not. GHK-Cu coordinates copper through a tripeptide, with the histidine imidazole and a deprotonated peptide-bond nitrogen forming the binding pocket and producing the diagnostic d-d band near 622 nm. Copper Lysinate/Prolinate coordinates copper through free amino-acid donors — the amine and carboxylate groups of lysine and proline — a simpler chelation motif with its own ligand field, its own visible signature, and a different solubility and stability envelope. Neither replaces the other; for a copper-chemistry formulator they are two distinct copper carriers, and Cupratec documents each against its own internal master so the right reference is used for the right active.
It is a copper-coordination file built for this ligand set. Each lot carries a copper-content figure by atomic absorption with the copper-to-ligand relationship reported as-found, identity and ligand-ratio confirmation, a UV-Vis trace logging the Cu(II) d-d signature for the lysine/proline donor environment, and a CIELAB ΔE colour reading against an internal Copper Lysinate/Prolinate master under D65 so incoming lots have a colour anchor. Because the chromophore is a copper-amino-acid one and not the copper-peptide band near 622 nm, the spectral feature is logged against this active's own reference rather than the GHK-Cu standard — using the wrong master would defeat the point of the check.
The coordination guardrails are the same ones that govern every copper active Cupratec ships, so the chemistry is compatible in principle: keep strong chelators (EDTA, DTPA) out so they cannot strip copper from either ligand, hold a near-neutral working pH through shelf life, keep reductants on a separate phase, and work on copper-clean process water. What a formulator should not assume is that two copper carriers with different ligand fields behave identically in a shared base — the copper-amino-acid complex and the copper-peptide complex have different stability envelopes, so a combined system warrants its own compatibility runs with copper-content and colour readouts at t-zero, four weeks, and twelve weeks. Use level and finished-product behaviour are formulation choices for the brand to develop and substantiate. The lot-release principles are set out in our Cu²⁺ : peptide ratio field note.
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