Peptide reference
Matrixyl
Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 ·Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-3 ·Pal-KTTKS ·Palmitoyl-Lys-Thr-Thr-Lys-Ser
What cited sources report about Matrixyl
Matrixyl is the trade name (Sederma/Croda) for the synthetic palmitoylated pentapeptide palmitoyl-Lys-Thr-Thr-Lys-Ser (Pal-KTTKS), originally described in cosmetic patents by Procter & Gamble. The molecule is regulated as a cosmetic ingredient in the US and most international markets, not as a drug. There is no FDA-approved drug indication, no PCAC nomination, and no marketing authorization as a pharmaceutical in any jurisdiction reviewed in the cited sources. The summaries below report what individual cited sources state; this page does not assert claims beyond what those sources report.
Robinson et al. (2005) — International Journal of Cosmetic Science
A 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted by Procter & Gamble Beauty researchers enrolled 93 women, age 35-55, and compared a moisturizer containing 3 ppm palmitoyl-KTTKS with the corresponding vehicle control. The investigators reported greater improvement in wrinkles and fine lines in the active arm than in the placebo arm, by both image-analysis grading and subject self-assessment, and characterized the formulation as well tolerated.
pal-KTTKS was well tolerated by the skin and provided significant improvement vs. placebo control for reduction in wrinkles/fine lines.
Tałałaj et al. (2019) — Molecules
An in-vitro structure-activity study from the Medical University of Białystok synthesized a series of KTTKS analogues — including the parent palmitoyl-KTTKS — and characterized cytotoxicity in human fibroblast cultures alongside protease-mediated stability assays. The authors reported that the parent pentapeptide and several analogues were non-cytotoxic at the concentrations tested and observed differential proteolytic stability across the series.
PubChem CID 9897237 — National Center for Biotechnology Information
The PubChem compound record for palmitoyl pentapeptide-4 lists molecular formula C39H75N7O10, consistent with the palmitoyl-Lys-Thr-Thr-Lys-Ser sequence. The record aggregates synonyms — including Pal-KTTKS, Matrixyl, and palmitoyl pentapeptide-3 — and links to the underlying chemical and patent literature.
Coverage notes
Coverage notes: cosmetic ingredient with limited peer-reviewed clinical data. Matrixyl is regulated as a cosmetic ingredient and most of the publicly available efficacy literature consists of manufacturer-funded testing, cosmetic-industry whitepapers, and patent filings that fall outside the whitelisted scientific-source set used for this page. The Robinson 2005 paper is the most-cited independent academic clinical-study record in PubMed. Several follow-on cosmetic-industry products (Matrixyl 3000, Matrixyl Synthe’6) use closely related but distinct peptide actives and are not covered by the cited records here.