About

In environmental testing and clinical toxicology, reports often alternate between ng/mL and µg/L depending on the laboratory standard or the specific regulatory body (e.g., EPA vs. WHO). This discrepancy often causes unnecessary confusion for students and junior technicians who may waste time performing complex conversions.

This tool serves primarily as a pedagogical and verification utility. It reinforces the fact that these units are numerically equivalent. The scaling factor of the numerator (nano to micro, 1000x) is perfectly offset by the scaling factor of the denominator (milli to liter, 1000x). While the calculation is mathematically a 1:1 pass-through, using this tool provides a formal validation step in data processing pipelines, ensuring that decimal separators and formats are standardized.

Formulas

The equivalence is derived by expanding the metric prefixes:

1 ngmL = 10^-9 g10^-3 L = 10^-6 g/L = 1 µg/L

Therefore:

C_(µg/L) = C_(ng/mL)

Reference Data

Concentration (ng/mL)	Concentration (µg/L)	Common Application
0.5 ng/mL	0.5 µg/L	Trace metal analysis
5.0 ng/mL	5.0 µg/L	Drug metabolite cutoff
10 ng/mL	10 µg/L	Hormone levels in serum
50 ng/mL	50 µg/L	Pesticide residue limits
100 ng/mL	100 µg/L	Toxicology screening

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The ratio of mass to volume remains constant because both the top and bottom units increase by a factor of 1,000. 1 ng is 1/1000th of a µg, and 1 mL is 1/1000th of a L.

It acts as a "sanity check" and a formatter. It ensures that data entered with commas (European style) or varying precision is outputted in a standardized, verified format, reducing human error in official reports.

This unit pair is typically used for liquids (aqueous solutions, blood, urine). Gas concentrations are usually measured in ppm or mg/m³.