Use this SS-31 calculator to turn your vial strength and bacteriostatic water volume into an exact draw in mL and syringe units. SS-31 is the research name for elamipretide, a mitochondria-targeted peptide dosed in milligrams. Research-grade SS-31 is not an approved medicine; this page covers the maths only.
- Common vial examples
- 10 / 50 mg
- Example dose
- 2 mg
- Common syringe
- U-100 insulin
- Last reviewed
Quick math example
A 10 mg vial mixed with 2 mL gives 5 mg/mL. A 2 mg dose is 0.4 mL, which equals 40 units on a U-100 syringe.
SS-31 reconstitution reference
U-100 units to draw for each common SS-31 dose, by vial size, reconstituted with 2 mL of bacteriostatic water. Change the water volume in the calculator above to recompute for your own setup.
| Vial | Concentration | 1 mg | 2 mg | 5 mg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 mg | 5 mg/mL | 20 u(0.2 mL) | 40 u(0.4 mL) | 100 u(1 mL) |
| 50 mg | 25 mg/mL | 4 u(0.04 mL) | 8 u(0.08 mL) | 20 u(0.2 mL) |
Swipe the table to see every dose →
Educational reference only — not a dose recommendation. Units assume a U-100 insulin syringe (100 units = 1 mL on U-100). Always confirm against your own vial, diluent, and clinician or pharmacy instructions.
SS-31 dosage chart: units for 10 mg and 50 mg vials
SS-31 is dosed in milligrams. Amounts cited in community protocols vary widely, most often somewhere between 1 and 10 mg a day over a cycle of a few weeks, while the elamipretide clinical trials used 40 mg a day under the skin. None of these is a recommendation from this page: research-grade SS-31 has no approved dose. The chart shows what each amount looks like on a U-100 syringe.
Because the doses are in milligrams, concentration decides whether a dose fits in one syringe. At 5 mg/mL (10 mg in 2 mL) a 5 mg dose is a full 1 mL; at 10 mg/mL (10 mg in 1 mL, or 50 mg in 5 mL) it is half that.
- 10 mg + 2 mL (5 mg/mL): 1 mg = 20 units · 2 mg = 40 units
- 10 mg + 1 mL (10 mg/mL): 2 mg = 20 units · 5 mg = 50 units
- 50 mg + 5 mL (10 mg/mL): ten 5 mg doses per vial
SS-31 dosage chart in U-100 units
| Dose | 10 mg + 2 mL5 mg/mL | 10 mg + 1 mL10 mg/mL | 50 mg + 5 mL10 mg/mL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mg | 20 u(0.2 mL)10 per vial | 10 u(0.1 mL)10 per vial | 10 u(0.1 mL)50 per vial |
| 2 mg | 40 u(0.4 mL)5 per vial | 20 u(0.2 mL)5 per vial | 20 u(0.2 mL)25 per vial |
| 4 mg | 80 u(0.8 mL)2 per vial | 40 u(0.4 mL)2 per vial | 40 u(0.4 mL)12 per vial |
| 5 mg | 100 u(1 mL)2 per vial | 50 u(0.5 mL)2 per vial | 50 u(0.5 mL)10 per vial |
| 10 mg | 200 u(2 mL)1 per vial · over 1 mL | 100 u(1 mL)1 per vial | 100 u(1 mL)5 per vial |
Swipe the table to see every vial →
Educational reference only — not a dose recommendation. Units assume a U-100 insulin syringe (100 units = 1 mL on U-100); “per vial” is how many of that dose the vial holds, before the small dead-space loss on each draw. Confirm against your own vial, diluent, and clinician or pharmacy instructions.
How the SS-31 calculation works
SS-31 vials are labelled in milligrams and doses are usually written in milligrams too. The calculator converts the vial total to mcg, divides by the water volume to find the concentration, then divides your dose by that concentration to get the mL and the syringe units.
- 10 mg vial = 10,000 mcg total
- 10,000 mcg / 2 mL = 5,000 mcg per mL
- 2,000 mcg target = 0.4 mL draw = 40 units
SS-31 10 mg vial with 2 mL example
A 10 mg SS-31 vial mixed with 2 mL gives 5 mg/mL, or 5,000 mcg/mL. A 2 mg dose is 0.4 mL (40 units) and a 5 mg dose is a full 1 mL (100 units).
If your dose is at the higher end, 1 mL of water doubles the concentration to 10 mg/mL and halves every draw, so 5 mg becomes 50 units.
- 10 mg / 2 mL = 5 mg/mL
- 2 mg / 5 mg per mL = 0.4 mL = 40 U-100 units
- 5 mg / 5 mg per mL = 1.0 mL = 100 U-100 units
SS-31 10 mg vial: units per dose (2 mL BAC water)
U-100 units to draw for each common SS-31 dose, by vial size, reconstituted with 2 mL of bacteriostatic water. Change the water volume in the calculator above to recompute for your own setup.
| Vial | Concentration | 1 mg | 2 mg | 5 mg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 mg | 5 mg/mL | 20 u(0.2 mL) | 40 u(0.4 mL) | 100 u(1 mL) |
Swipe the table to see every dose →
Educational reference only — not a dose recommendation. Units assume a U-100 insulin syringe (100 units = 1 mL on U-100). Always confirm against your own vial, diluent, and clinician or pharmacy instructions.
How much BAC water for a 50 mg SS-31 vial
A 50 mg vial holds five times the peptide of a 10 mg vial, so the water volume decides whether the draws stay readable. 5 mL gives 10 mg/mL, so every 10 units is 1 mg; 2.5 mL gives 20 mg/mL, where a 1 mg dose is only 5 units.
A 50 mg vial is many doses at most cited amounts — ten 5 mg doses or twenty-five 2 mg doses — so check the vial can hold the volume and that its beyond-use date covers the time it takes to use it.
- 50 mg / 5 mL = 10 mg/mL → 2 mg = 20 units, 5 mg = 50 units
- 50 mg / 2.5 mL = 20 mg/mL → 2 mg = 10 units, 5 mg = 25 units
- Twenty-five 2 mg doses or ten 5 mg doses per vial
SS-31 50 mg vial: units per dose (5 mL BAC water)
U-100 units to draw for each common SS-31 dose, by vial size, reconstituted with 5 mL of bacteriostatic water. Change the water volume in the calculator above to recompute for your own setup.
| Vial | Concentration | 1 mg | 2 mg | 5 mg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 mg | 10 mg/mL | 10 u(0.1 mL) | 20 u(0.2 mL) | 50 u(0.5 mL) |
Swipe the table to see every dose →
Educational reference only — not a dose recommendation. Units assume a U-100 insulin syringe (100 units = 1 mL on U-100). Always confirm against your own vial, diluent, and clinician or pharmacy instructions.
SS-31 and elamipretide
SS-31 (also called MTP-131 and Bendavia) is a small synthetic peptide that concentrates in the inner mitochondrial membrane, where it binds cardiolipin. Under the drug name elamipretide it has been studied in primary mitochondrial myopathy, Barth syndrome and heart failure; in the phase 3 MMPOWER-3 trial, 40 mg a day did not improve the main outcomes in mitochondrial myopathy.
Vials sold as SS-31 for research are not the same as a regulated medicine: their content and purity are not verified. This calculator works for either, because the maths only depends on the milligrams in the vial and the water you add.
See also: MOTS-c dosage calculator · NAD+ dosage calculator
Frequently asked questions
Is SS-31 the same as elamipretide?
What is a typical SS-31 dosage?
How many units is 5 mg of SS-31?
How much BAC water should I add to a 50 mg SS-31 vial?
Primary sources
Background references for this calculator. PepSync does not make clinical claims; these citations support the educational context only.
- 1
- 2Elamipretide: A Review of Its Structure, Mechanism of Action, and Therapeutic PotentialInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences · 2025