How many units is 1 mg?
1 mg is 40 units on a U-100 insulin syringe when the solution is 2.5 mg/mL (5 mg mixed with 2 mL of water). The number changes with the concentration, so check your own mix against the table below.
1 mg in units at every common concentration
| Concentration | Made by mixing | Units | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mg/mL | 2 mg in 2 mL, or 5 mg in 5 mL | 100 units | 1 mL |
| 2 mg/mL | 10 mg in 5 mL | 50 units | 0.5 mL |
| 2.5 mg/mL | 5 mg in 2 mL | 40 units | 0.4 mL |
| 3.33 mg/mL | 10 mg in 3 mL | 30 units | 0.3 mL |
| 5 mg/mL | 5 mg in 1 mL, or 10 mg in 2 mL | 20 units | 0.2 mL |
| 10 mg/mL | 10 mg in 1 mL, or 20 mg in 2 mL | 10 units | 0.1 mL |
How do you work out the units for 1 mg?
- Find your concentration: the peptide in the vial divided by the water you added. 5 mg in 2 mL is 2.5 mg/mL.
- Convert to micrograms per unit: multiply by 1,000, then divide by 100. 2.5 mg/mL is 25 mcg per unit.
- Divide the amount by that figure: 1,000 mcg divided by 25 is 40 units.
Or let the mcg to units converter do it from your own vial and water.
What to watch for with 1 mg
- At 1 mg/mL, 1 mg is 100 units, beyond the capacity of a U-50 (0.5 mL) syringe. Check the syringe size against the number before relying on it.
- 1 mg is 1,000 micrograms. Mixing up milligrams and micrograms is the most common error in this arithmetic, and it is a thousandfold error, so confirm the unit on the vial label before converting.
Common questions
How many units is 1 mg on an insulin syringe?
It depends on the concentration of the solution. At 2.5 mg/mL (5 mg mixed with 2 mL of water), 1 mg is 40 units on a U-100 syringe. At 5 mg/mL it is 20 units, and at 1 mg/mL it is 100 units.
How do I convert 1 mg to units myself?
Multiply the concentration in mg/mL by 1,000 to get micrograms per mL, divide by 100 to get micrograms per unit on a U-100 syringe, then divide 1,000 mcg by that figure. At 2.5 mg/mL that is 25 mcg per unit, so 1,000 divided by 25 is 40 units.
Is 1 mg a recommended amount?
No. This page converts an amount into syringe units; it does not suggest that anyone take it. Whether and how much of any substance to use is a decision for you and a licensed clinician.
Unit conversion only. This page does not recommend an amount of any substance and is not medical advice.
PepCue does this conversion for every vial you log, so you never re-derive it. Free on iPhone and Android.