Understand the source comparison
AHK-Cu Not Working Reasons Fix: Full Comparison
Oxidative degradation Cu²⁺ undergoes redox cycling in presence of O₂, generating ROS that cleave peptide bonds Visual: no change; functional: loss of SOD activity in assay Argon displacement in vial headspace; refrigerate 2–8°C; use within 21 days Most common
No winner is assigned.
This page preserves a source comparison for education. It does not add a rating, recommendation or clinical judgment.
- Oxidative degradation
- Cu²⁺ undergoes redox cycling in presence of O₂, generating ROS that cleave peptide bonds
- Visual: no change; functional: loss of SOD activity in assay
- Argon displacement in vial headspace; refrigerate 2–8°C; use within 21 days
- Most common cause of AHK-Cu failure. Preventable with proper storage
- pH-induced hydrolysis
- Alkaline reconstitution solvent (pH >7.5) cleaves amide linkages between amino acids
- pH test strip on reconstitution solvent before use
- Use bacteriostatic water pH 5.5–6.5; verify with pH meter before mixing
- Occurs during reconstitution. Irreversible once peptide is hydrolysed
- Temperature excursion
- Peptide degrades 8–12% per hour at 37°C; 2–3% per day at 4°C
- Track temperature log; measure activity loss via collagen synthesis assay
- Minimise time outside refrigeration; never leave vial at room temp >10 min
- Cumulative damage across multiple uses. Refrigerate immediately after each draw
- Protease cleavage
- MMP-2/MMP-9 in tissue cleave tripeptide before cellular uptake
- Pre-treat control samples with protease inhibitor; compare uptake rates
- Apply protease inhibitor (EDTA 1–2 mM) before AHK-Cu; use liposomal carrier
- Tissue-dependent. Wound/inflamed samples require pre-treatment
- Low batch purity
- Synthesis byproducts and truncated fragments occupy vial but contribute zero activity
- Request CoA; verify HPLC purity ≥98%; confirm copper content via ICP-MS
- Source from suppliers with third-party batch testing and published CoAs
- Purity below 95% introduces 5–10% variability in dose-response curves