The takeaways, up front

What Syntha-Pep is, and what it is not

Most serums are made to sit on your skin and soak in. Syntha-Pep is not. It is the sealed consumable for the MicroInfuser, EvenSkyn's at-home micro-infusion device, and it is engineered to be delivered through the temporary micro-channels the device opens. Each ampoule holds 5 mL of a concentrated payload, and it connects directly to a single-use needle head so the serum never meets open air, your fingers, or a refillable chamber. One ampoule and one head make one session, then both are discarded.

That design has a consequence worth being upfront about: Syntha-Pep is not sold or intended as a pat-on topical you swap for a drugstore serum, and a drugstore PDRN serum is not a substitute for it either. They are different products doing the same job two different ways. If you want the device side of the story, the head-to-head of the leading at-home micro-infusion systems covers how the MicroInfuser compares on hardware, and the guide to choosing a micro-infusion kit covers the category. This guide is about the serum.

What is actually in it

EvenSkyn built Syntha-Pep from the first molecule outward to be infused, not adapted from a topical. Three hero actives anchor it.

1. A fermentation-derived PDRN (the lead)

PDRN, polydeoxyribonucleotide, is a DNA-fragment ingredient that signals skin cells to repair and rebuild. It works mainly by binding the A2A adenosine receptor, which prompts fibroblasts toward collagen synthesis, downregulates the collagen-degrading enzyme MMP-1, and calms inflammation, as summarized in a 2025 review in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Most PDRN on the market is purified from salmon DNA. Syntha-Pep's is different in a way that genuinely matters: it is bioengineered by controlled fermentation, so the PDRN itself contains no salmon-derived material. More on what that does and does not mean below.

2. An EGF-class peptide (sh-Oligopeptide-1)

sh-Oligopeptide-1 is a bioengineered signaling peptide whose sequence matches the human Epidermal Growth Factor your skin makes, grown by recombinant fermentation rather than taken from animals. EvenSkyn includes it to support the same fibroblast activity micro-infusion sets in motion. We treat the growth-factor category as supportive rather than a proven wrinkle eraser; for the deeper EGF story, see our EGF in skincare guide.

3. Copper peptide GHK-Cu

Copper Tripeptide-1, GHK-Cu, has been studied for over five decades. Foundational work showed the tripeptide-copper complex stimulates collagen synthesis in fibroblast cultures, and a 2018 review in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences documents its role in skin repair, elasticity, and the look of firmer skin. It anchors a wider peptide complex that also includes Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 and palmitoyl peptides.

Around those three sit a multi-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid system (four forms of hyaluronate, hydrating from the surface down), a barrier-repair pairing of Centella Asiatica and arginine, and a brightening base of niacinamide and ergothioneine. Niacinamide's tone-evening effect is well evidenced: in the Hakozaki study it inhibited melanosome transfer by 35 to 68 percent in a coculture model and reduced visible hyperpigmentation in clinical use. EvenSkyn positions these together for the look of firmer, more even, more rejuvenated skin. The cosmetic framing is ours; the ingredient science is cited.

The PDRN source, told straight

PDRN reaches skincare by three routes. The original and still most common is salmon-derived, purified from fish DNA. A second, newer route is plant or phyto PDRN, marketed as vegan and drawn from sources like rice, ginseng, or Centella. Syntha-Pep uses a third: a PDRN bioengineered by controlled fermentation, which means the PDRN molecule itself contains no salmon or other fish-derived material. We are not going to re-run the whole salmon-versus-vegan debate here, because our PDRN guide already covers it; the point for Syntha-Pep is simply that its PDRN is not salmon-derived.

Now the precise part, because this is where marketing usually gets sloppy. Not salmon-derived is not the same as vegan. Syntha-Pep still contains a small amount of marine-derived hydrolyzed collagen as a humectant, which is the one animal-derived component in the formula. So the serum is cruelty-free but not vegan, and anyone with a fish or shellfish allergy should treat the marine collagen, not the PDRN, as the reason to consult a doctor and patch test before first use. We would rather tell you that cleanly than let "not from salmon" do quiet work it has not earned.

The argument no one else in this category makes

Here is the case for Syntha-Pep that has nothing to do with a louder claim. PDRN acts in the dermis, through the A2A pathway, on the fibroblasts that build collagen. The hard part for any serum is getting a relatively large DNA-fragment molecule down through the stratum corneum, the barrier that exists precisely to keep things out. That is the well-known limitation of topical delivery, and it is why so much of PDRN's strongest evidence involves getting it past the barrier rather than relying on absorption from the surface. Micro-channels are an established way to bypass that barrier, documented across the microneedle-assisted delivery literature and the microneedling reviews. Syntha-Pep is formulated to be infused through exactly those channels. In other words, it pairs the active with the delivery the active actually needs, instead of asking a surface serum to do something the barrier makes hard. That is the honest differentiator, and it is one neither the topical PDRN serums nor the other device serums are built around.

A topical PDRN serum asks the molecule to cross a barrier built to keep it out. An infused one routes it through a door the device opens. Same active, very different odds of reaching where it works.

The full ingredient list, decoded

Here is the complete INCI, grouped by what each part is doing. Nothing hidden, including the trace fragrance and the one animal-derived ingredient.

Reading it at a glance

The regenerative actives are Polydeoxyribonucleotides (the fermentation PDRN), Copper Tripeptide-1 (GHK-Cu), and sh-Oligopeptide-1 (the EGF-class peptide), supported by a peptide complex of Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Acetyl Tetrapeptide-9, and Acetyl Tetrapeptide-11. Hydration runs deep through four forms of hyaluronate (Sodium Hyaluronate, Acetylated Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, and Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate) plus glycerin, mannitol, and trehalose. Centella Asiatica and arginine handle barrier and soothing, while niacinamide and ergothioneine handle tone and radiance. The two ingredients labeled Collagen and Soluble Collagen are the marine-derived hydrolyzed collagen, present at a low level as a humectant, and the Citrus Aurantium Amara (Bitter Orange) Flower Oil is a trace, kept below the cosmetic fragrance-allergen threshold and included for its aroma. [SPEC TO CONFIRM AT LAUNCH: published PDRN concentration of Syntha-Pep, in ppm.]

Syntha-Pep versus a typical topical PDRN serum

The fair comparison for Syntha-Pep is not another device, it is the PDRN serum you would otherwise pat on. Here is how they differ on the things that actually change the outcome.

Brand and product names are the property of their respective owners. This compares formats, not specific competing products. For a device-versus-device comparison of the leading at-home micro-infusion systems, see the dedicated head-to-head linked above.

Neither approach is wrong. A topical PDRN serum is convenient and fits a daily routine. Syntha-Pep trades that convenience for delivery: it asks more of you (a device, a session every two weeks) and gives the PDRN a real route to where it acts. If the appeal of PDRN is the regeneration story, the delivery is the part worth paying attention to.

What serum belongs in a micro-infusion device

The moment people buy any micro-infusion or microneedling tool, they ask what to put in it. The short answer is not your everyday serum. The micro-channels are delivery routes, and a serum built for the surface, carrying fragrance, preservatives, or large molecules, can behave differently when it is driven below the barrier instead of sitting on top of it. That is a path to irritation rather than results, and aesthetic suppliers make the point repeatedly: infuse a serum formulated for infusion, not whatever is on your shelf.

That is what Syntha-Pep is, and it is also why the MicroInfuser does not let you fill your own chamber. The serum arrives sealed, pre-matched to the needle head, and formulated from the start to be delivered through channels rather than absorbed from the surface. It removes the most common at-home mistake in a single step, because there is no wrong serum to load when the serum and the delivery are designed together. For what to apply around a session, as opposed to what to infuse during one, our layering and compatibility guide covers the timing for hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, retinol, and the rest.

Where Syntha-Pep sits next to salmon DNA and Rejuran

If you have read about PDRN at all, you have met it under other names: salmon DNA, the salmon sperm facial, or the clinic injectable Rejuran. It helps to place Syntha-Pep on that map honestly. The deepest version of PDRN, and its longer-chain cousin PN (polynucleotides), is the injected one given in a clinic. In the United States those injectables, Rejuran among them, are currently not FDA-approved for that cosmetic use and are generally not available for injection, while topical and at-home PDRN is sold legally as a cosmetic. So at-home PDRN is the accessible, legal route, not a stand-in for a clinic injection.

Two honest distinctions follow. Syntha-Pep uses PDRN, the shorter DNA fragment, not the longer-chain PN behind Rejuran-style injectables, and it is delivered by infusion rather than injection, so it does not reach injection depth and is not equivalent to a clinic skin booster. What micro-infusion does is carry the PDRN meaningfully deeper than patting a salmon DNA serum on the surface, which is the honest middle ground between a cream and a needle. And Syntha-Pep's PDRN is not salmon-derived at all; it is made by fermentation. Research on microbial and fermentation-derived PDRN describes it as a sustainable alternative to salmon-based PDRN that works through the same A2A pathway, with smaller DNA fragments that may aid absorption (microbial-derived PDRN research). So if the salmon DNA story is what drew you in, Syntha-Pep offers the same class of regenerative signal without the salmon, delivered deeper than a cream, and with no claim to replace a clinic.

Using it, and keeping it

One sealed ampoule and one fresh needle head make a single session, used roughly once every two weeks in the evening. You break the seal, click on the head, rest the device so the serum reaches the needles, then stamp gently across the face, and pat any remainder into the skin afterward since absorption is heightened for the first hour. For the full step-by-step and the reasoning behind the cadence, see how often to do at-home micro-infusion. Store ampoules in a cool, dry place between 5 and 30 C, away from direct sun and out of the bathroom. The serum tolerates the warmth of normal shipping as long as the seal is intact and the liquid stays clear and uniform; if it has been held at sustained high heat or looks cloudy or separated, do not use it. To keep results, you reorder heads and ampoules, since both are single-use by design.

The verdict, scored honestly

Who should hold off

Because Syntha-Pep is used by stamping it into the skin, the device's safety guidance applies to the serum too. Beyond the marine-collagen and fish-allergy caution already covered, hold off or check with a doctor first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have taken oral isotretinoin in the past six months, take prescribed blood thinners, have a history of keloid scarring, or have active acne, eczema, rosacea, or an infection in the area. Our micro-infusion safety guide covers the full list of medications, skin types, and contraindications.

The pick

Frequently asked questions

How we put this together

References

Published [PUBLISH DATE: set at launch]. Last reviewed [REVIEW DATE]. Next review due [NEXT REVIEW DATE]. Syntha-Pep is a cosmetic skincare product for personal at-home use with the MicroInfuser device. It is not a medical product and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or condition. Individual results vary. Consult a qualified healthcare provider if you have a medical condition, are pregnant or breastfeeding, take prescription medication, or have a fish or shellfish allergy.