Millimolar to Nanomolar Converter

Common Conversions

mM	nM
0.000001	1
0.00001	10
0.0001	100
0.001	1000
0.01	10000
0.1	100000
1	1000000
5	5000000
10	10000000
100	100000000
1000	1000000000
10000	10000000000

Why this conversion matters in chemistry

Drug-discovery assay setup is the usual setting. Cell-culture buffer salts run at mM concentrations (10 mM HEPES, 5 mM glucose, 140 mM Na⁺), while a kinase inhibitor IC50 sits in the nM regime. A 10 mM buffer-salt is 10⁷ nM — six decades above the nM-scale specific binding signal a lead compound produces. Where the 10⁶ nM per mM comes from: two SI prefix steps (mM → µM → nM). Mostly it's a unit-system step between mM-scale assay buffer composition and nM-scale target potency in a high-throughput screening setup.

Formula

nM = mM × 10⁶

Worked Examples

1 mM = 1000000 nM

The conversion anchor — six prefix decades, the full span of the relationship.

0.001 mM = 1000 nM

1 µM — the bridge step between mM and nM scales.

0.000001 mM = 1 nM

1 nM — about a typical lead-compound potency for a kinase inhibitor.

10 mM = 10000000 nM

10 mM — about a typical buffer concentration in nM units.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I convert mM to nM?

Multiply by 10⁶. So 0.001 mM becomes 1000 nM. The relationship is exact through two SI prefix steps.

What dilution is needed to go from 1 mM to 1 nM?

A 10⁶-fold dilution — typically three serial 1:100 dilutions, or two serial 1:1000 dilutions. Going below the µM range usually requires the dilutions to be done in carrier protein or a stabilizing buffer to prevent adsorption losses.

When is this conversion useful?

Calculating dilution chains from mM stock solutions down to nM working concentrations for cell-based assays, binding studies, or HTS screening. The conversion is the routine first step in any such dilution-design calculation.