Acetyl Hexapeptide-37 (Diffuporine)_Dosage, benefits & legal status
Also known as Diffuporine, Diffuporine peptide solution, Ac-SPAGGP-NH2, Ac-Ser-Pro-Ala-Gly-Gly-Pro-NH2
A six-residue Lipotec peptide sold as Diffuporine, said to make skin cells produce more aquaporin-3 water channels. Every efficacy figure comes from the supplier, with methods undisclosed.
Common vial size is what vendors typically sell, not a recommendation. Enter your own vial in the calculator.
What is Acetyl Hexapeptide-37 (Diffuporine)?
Plain language first. The technical label stays, but it never stands alone.Overview
It is a hydration ingredient in moisturizers and serums, built on the idea of helping skin move water up to its surface. Lubrizol says skin hydration rose 131% over 2 months, but it has not published how many people were tested, how, or against what. Everything known beyond its structure comes from the supplier with undisclosed methods, and no independent study or safety data exist for the peptide itself.
Acetyl hexapeptide-37 is Ac-Ser-Pro-Ala-Gly-Gly-Pro-NH2, a six-residue peptide developed by Lipotec and sold by Lubrizol as Diffuporine. It is said to raise skin cells' production of aquaporin-3, a channel for water and glycerol, but the only public account is a 2013 Lipotec article describing a gene-reporter screen and a rise in aquaporin-3 mRNA, with no numbers. The sequence comes from Lipotec's patent and reagent suppliers; FDA's substance registry has no record of it.
What it's used for
A cosmetic ingredient in moisturizers and serums sold for hydration, listed in about 51 products. Used only on the skin.
How does Acetyl Hexapeptide-37 (Diffuporine) work?
What it does in the body, and where.Acetyl hexapeptide-37 is said to make skin cells produce more aquaporin-3, a channel that lets water and glycerol pass through cell membranes.
- 01Aquaporin-3The supplier and brands describe aquaporin-3 as moving water from the deepest layer of the outer skin up toward the surface, and say it declines with age and sun exposure, without showing data.
- 02How it was foundLipotec screened a peptide library in cells carrying a light-producing reporter linked to the aquaporin-3 gene's control region, and says this peptide raised human aquaporin-3 mRNA. No fold-change, concentration, cell details or controls have been published, and no protein measurement is public.
- 03From gene to hydrationThe idea is that more channels carry more water and glycerol toward the surface layer; the supplier links this to a 131% rise in hydration over 2 months. The peptide is not said to open or bind the channel, and whether it reaches the deeper skin cells from a cream is unproven.
What else is it used for?
Each group carries its own evidence level.Approved means regulators have cleared it for that purpose. Investigational means it is in trials. Early research means it is being studied and is not established.
Supplier lab screen
Supplement or cosmetic- Lab studyLipotec screened a peptide library in cells carrying a luciferase reporter on the aquaporin-3 promoter, and says this peptide raised human aquaporin-3 mRNA.
- No dataNo fold-change, concentration, cell type details, controls or protein measurement are public, and Lipotec's patent does not say which of its peptides became Diffuporine.
Supplier hydration claim
Supplement or cosmetic- human-earlyLubrizol says the skin is strongly hydrated, giving a figure of 131% in 2 months, without saying what the figure is measured against.
- No dataPanel size, ages, comparator, measuring device and statistics are not stated.
Independent research
none- ReviewA full-text search finds 3 papers that mention it: a 2024 review and two 2025 tests of multi-product skincare regimens, one with two of its three authors from the company whose products were tested. None tests the isolated peptide.
- No dataA retailer that sells it says there is no independent research confirming its effect on skin.
It is often said that the manufacturer has shown increased aquaporin-3 levels in lab experiments. The only public description, Lipotec's 2013 article, says aquaporin-3 mRNA rose in a gene-reporter screen; no protein measurement or number is public, and Lubrizol's current page does not mention aquaporin-3 at all, saying only that it improves the transport of water within the skin. A 20-woman split-face test in that 2013 article was of a different Lipotec product. One chemical vendor's page gives the hydration test as 20 people aged 30 to 50 over 56 days and says aquaporin-3 production doubled, but the same page calls it a seven-amino-acid peptide and gives two contradictory formulas and weights; only the 131% figure over 2 months is confirmed, by Lubrizol, without a panel size or comparator. Paula's Choice rates it as proven and supported by independent studies while its own text says there is no independent research. Brands' collagen I and cell-growth claims trace back to the supplier, with no published numbers. It is not one of the ISP/Ashland aquaporin peptides built on an Asn-Pro-Ala-Arg motif, and a 90% aquaporin-3 rise in skin samples belongs to an Anadenanthera colubrina plant extract, not this peptide; the two appear together in at least one aquaporin cream.
The published record
Papers and trials about Acetyl Hexapeptide-37 (Diffuporine)
2 papers tagged human · 0 not reviews or lab · 0 clinical trial publications
2 registered trials · none with posted results
Furthest stage reached: Registered study, no drug phase, completed, no results posted
Counted from Europe PMC indexing, not read by a person; a human tag can land on reviews, commentary or lab papers; clinical trial publications is the narrower count.
At a glance
Four things to know about Acetyl Hexapeptide-37 (Diffuporine)
Evidence
Cosmetic
Category
Skin and cosmetic
Common vial
Varies
Half-life
Not established
How much, and do you cycle it?
The range, and whether you take breaks.2% Diffuporine solution in a cream or serum (supplier), per product; no tested schedule published. Daily use Community practice
Applied daily like other cosmetic actives. The supplier's hydration figure covers 2 months; no schedule was published.
Not establishedNo figure
Applied to the skin. No skin-penetration, stability or blood-level data have been published.
You can compare this against the whole library to see where it sits.
What does it cost?
Typical dose and cost, in plain numbers.Acetyl Hexapeptide-37 (Diffuporine) is not injected
It is taken on the skin (cream or serum). A leave-on cosmetic ingredient in moisturizers and serums. Lubrizol recommends 2% of Diffuporine peptide solution (butylene glycol, water and the peptide) in a finished product. This figure is for the solution, not the peptide: the peptide content of the solution is not published, so the amount of peptide in a product cannot be worked out. Lipotec's patent gives generic ranges for its whole peptide family, 0.00000001% to 20% by weight and more preferably 0.0001% to 5%. There is no oral or injected dose.
How do you store it?
Before mixing, and after.Room temperature, out of light. Cap it tight after each use.
Acetyl Hexapeptide-37 (Diffuporine) ships as a cream, gel, or serum. Keep it at room temperature away from sun and heat unless the label says otherwise. Refrigerating an emulsion can split the texture. Watch for color, smell, or separation changes and stop using it if any appear.
What are the side effects and cautions?
Known cautions and warnings for this compound.Solubility, computed: 33% charged residues, 50% hydrophobic. Water usually sufficient.
A first-pass rule from peptide manufacturers' guidance. It does not account for disulfide bridges, salt form or how the powder was dried, and it predicts what should be easy rather than what will happen in your vial.
Who should avoid it
- Not studied on its own in people: the only human figure for the peptide is a supplier hydration claim with no panel details
- Not studied by injection or by mouth: it is made and sold only as a skin-care ingredient
- Known sensitivity to a product that contains it
Stop and get help
- Redness, burning, itching or a rash where it is applied
Common effects
- No side effects have been reported in any published source, supplier or independent
- No repeated patch test, irritation or sensitization study has been published
- No supplier safety dossier is public, and no Cosmetic Ingredient Review assessment was found
Where this page says nothing is established, that means nobody has studied it, not that a compound is safe.
Is Acetyl Hexapeptide-37 (Diffuporine) approved?
And where the numbers on this page come from.Not as a medicine. Acetyl Hexapeptide-37 (Diffuporine) is sold without a prescription as a cosmetic ingredient, which is a different thing from being approved as a drug.
- Approval statusCosmeticSold without a prescription as an ingredient in cosmetics, such as skincare and hair products. The FDA does not approve cosmetics before they are sold, and being easy to buy says nothing about whether it works.
- RouteOn the skin (cream or serum)
- Checked19 October 2026
- DoseFrom the concentration range manufacturers formulate at. This is a product strength, not a dose set by a regulator or a trial.
- Vial sizeFrom what vendors typically list; not a recommendation.
- SourcesLubrizol, Diffuporine peptide solutionPersonal Care Magazine, Lipotec's 360° hydration approach (March 4, 2013)Lipotec patent US 9,067,967 B2 (full text)Google Patents, US9067967B2Cayman Chemical, acetyl hexapeptide-37 (item 45964)MedChemExpress, acetyl hexapeptide-37 datasheet (HY-P5221)FDA GSRS search for acetyl hexapeptide-37Skinsort, acetyl hexapeptide-37INCIDecoder, acetyl hexapeptide-37Paula's Choice, acetyl hexapeptide-37 ingredient pageOpenAlex search for acetyl hexapeptide-37ISP patent US 8,450,456 B2 (a different aquaporin peptide)Katekawa et al., Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology 2020
What has happened recently
A cosmetic ingredient, not a drug, with no designations. Listed in the EU cosmetic ingredient database (CosIng, ID 89169) with the function skin conditioning. FDA's substance registry (GSRS) has no record and no UNII, so it cannot be traced through DailyMed labels. No Cosmetic Ingredient Review assessment was found. Lipotec (Gavà, Barcelona, Spain) developed it; Lubrizol bought Lipotec in 2012, trade press covered the launch on March 4, 2013, and Lubrizol now sells it as Diffuporine peptide solution under its Lubrizol Life Science Beauty brand. Lipotec's patent US 9,067,967 lists this sequence among its preferred peptides; it claims priority from March 25, 2011, was filed on March 23, 2012 and was granted on June 30, 2015. Research-grade material is sold as a lab reagent labeled not for human or veterinary use.
You can compare this against the whole library, or read how to check a seller.
What else is like Acetyl Hexapeptide-37 (Diffuporine)?
Others in Skin and cosmetic, side by side.If you're weighing Acetyl Hexapeptide-37 (Diffuporine), it's worth reading Acetyl Tetrapeptide-11, Acetyl Tetrapeptide-2 (Thymulen 4), and Acetyl Tetrapeptide-3 in the same class.
A six-residue Lipotec peptide sold as Diffuporine, said to make skin cells produce more aquaporin-3 water channels. Every efficacy figure comes from the supplier, with methods undisclosed.
- Dose
- 2% Diffuporine solution in a cream or serum (supplier)
- How often
- Per product; no tested schedule published
A topical cosmetic peptide sold as Syniorage, claimed to firm mature skin by raising syndecan-1 and collagen XVII.
- Dose
- Serum or cream, per product
- How often
- Daily
A four-residue piece of the thymus hormone thymopoietin, close kin to thymopentin, sold by two suppliers with two different stories. Its only independent study was done in cultured skin cells.
- Dose
- 2% Uplevity solution in a cream or serum (supplier), about 10 ppm peptide if the solution is 0.05% peptide
- How often
- Twice daily (supplier test)
A hair peptide sold for thinning, with evidence that mostly belongs to a combination product.
- Dose
- Serum or scalp treatment, 0.1 to 5%
- How often
- Daily
Guides for this compound
- mcg vs mg: The Peptide Dosing Mistake to Avoid
Your vial says mg and your protocol says mcg. Here is the conversion and how to check it.
- How to Read a Peptide COA
What the purity number does and does not tell you, and how to spot an edited report.
- How to Vet a Peptide Vendor
Independent COAs, HPLC purity, and the red flags that mean walk away.
Sources
- Lubrizol, Diffuporine peptide solution(2026)Butylene glycol, water and acetyl hexapeptide-37; 2% use level; skin hydration up 131% over 2 months, with no panel size or method; 49.98% natural origin (ISO 16128). Says it improves the transport of water within the skin.
- Personal Care Magazine, Lipotec's 360° hydration approach (March 4, 2013)(2013)Lipotec article: found by screening a peptide library with a luciferase reporter on the aquaporin-3 promoter; raised human aquaporin-3 mRNA; no numbers. Its 20-woman split-face test was of a different product.
- Lipotec patent US 9,067,967 B2 (full text)(2015)Lists Ac-Ser-Pro-Ala-Gly-Gly-Pro-NH2 among preferred peptides said to modulate aquaporin-3 and/or stimulate collagen synthesis; generic use range 0.00000001% to 20%, more preferably 0.0001% to 5%.
- Google Patents, US9067967B2(2015)Assigned to Lipotec; priority March 25, 2011; filed March 23, 2012; granted June 30, 2015.
- Cayman Chemical, acetyl hexapeptide-37 (item 45964)(2026)N-acetyl-L-seryl-L-prolyl-L-alanylglycylglycyl-L-prolinamide, acetate salt; C22H35N7O8, FW 525.6; not for human or veterinary use.
- MedChemExpress, acetyl hexapeptide-37 datasheet (HY-P5221)(2026)Ac-Ser-Pro-Ala-Gly-Gly-Pro-NH2; CAS 1447824-16-9; MW 525.56.
- FDA GSRS search for acetyl hexapeptide-37(2026)No record and no UNII.
- Skinsort, acetyl hexapeptide-37(2026)CosIng ID 89169, function skin conditioning; found in 51 products.
- INCIDecoder, acetyl hexapeptide-37(2026)CosIng definition, the product obtained by the acetylation of hexapeptide-37; brands include Dermalogica, StriVectin and Circadia.
- Paula's Choice, acetyl hexapeptide-37 ingredient page(2026)Made of alanine, proline, serine and glycine; says there is no independent research confirming its effect on skin, while rating it as supported by independent studies.
- OpenAlex search for acetyl hexapeptide-37(2026)3 works: a 2024 review and two 2025 tests of multi-product skincare regimens. None tests the isolated peptide.
- ISP patent US 8,450,456 B2 (a different aquaporin peptide)(2013)Peptides built on an Asn-Pro-Ala-Arg motif, priority December 21, 2007; a different supplier and a different peptide.
- Katekawa et al., Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology 2020(2020)Aquaporin-3 up 90% in skin samples with an Anadenanthera colubrina polysaccharide, a plant ingredient, not this peptide.
Beyond these, 2 records are indexed. Browse the records