ARA-290 Dosage Chart: Vial Size to Syringe Units

An ARA-290 dosage chart maps a vial's labeled mg amount and the bacteriostatic water added to it into the number that matters at the syringe: units. ARA-290 ships as lyophilized powder, so the mg on the label is fixed, but concentration is not — it depends on how much water goes into the vial. This chart works through that math for the vial sizes ARA-290 is commonly supplied in. It is a reference for research and educational purposes only and is not medical advice.

The reference concentration

There is no single required water volume for ARA-290. A reference point commonly used across ARA-290 research materials holds the water volume fixed at 2 mL regardless of vial size:

Vial size	Water added	Concentration
5 mg	2 mL	2.5 mg/mL (2500 mcg/mL)
10 mg	2 mL	5 mg/mL (5000 mcg/mL)
20 mg	2 mL	10 mg/mL (10,000 mcg/mL)

Because the water volume here stays fixed while the vial size changes, concentration rises with vial size rather than staying constant. That's a different reference convention than some other peptides use, where water is scaled up alongside vial size to hold concentration steady. Either approach is workable; what matters is knowing which one a given chart assumes before reading units off it. For the full mixing procedure behind these numbers, see the ARA-290 reconstitution calculator guide.

ARA-290 dosage chart by target dose

The table below uses the 10 mg vial reference point — 5000 mcg/mL, or 50 mcg per unit — and shows the resulting draw on a U-100 insulin syringe (100 units per mL):

Target dose	Volume	Units
100 mcg	0.02 mL	2 units
200 mcg	0.04 mL	4 units
250 mcg	0.05 mL	5 units
500 mcg	0.1 mL	10 units
750 mcg	0.15 mL	15 units
1000 mcg	0.2 mL	20 units

Every dose in this table divides cleanly into whole units at 50 mcg per unit, which is why the 10 mg vial in 2 mL of water is the reference point most ARA-290 charts default to.

Reading the chart against a different vial

Worked example. A 10 mg vial mixed with 2 mL of bacteriostatic water sits at 10 ÷ 2 = 5 mg/mL, or 5000 mcg/mL, which is 50 mcg per unit. A 500 mcg dose from that vial is 500 ÷ 50 = 10 units, matching the chart above.

Now compare the same 500 mcg dose drawn from a 5 mg vial, also mixed with 2 mL of water: 5 ÷ 2 = 2.5 mg/mL, or 2500 mcg/mL, which is 25 mcg per unit. That same dose is now 500 ÷ 25 = 20 units — a larger draw, even though the dose in mcg hasn't changed. And from a 20 mg vial in 2 mL: 20 ÷ 2 = 10 mg/mL, or 10,000 mcg/mL, which is 100 mcg per unit, putting 500 mcg at 500 ÷ 100 = 5 units. Three vial sizes, the same fixed 2 mL of water, and three different unit counts for an identical 500 mcg dose.

Why vial size matters here — and when it wouldn't

That result is specific to holding water volume constant across vial sizes. If water were scaled up with vial size instead — say, 1 mL per 5 mg, so every vial lands at 5 mg/mL — the units for a given dose would stay identical no matter which vial size was on hand, and only the number of doses per vial would change. Vial size on its own only sets the total mg available across the whole vial; it's the ratio of mg to water, not the vial size in isolation, that determines concentration and therefore units per dose. Reading a unit count off any ARA-290 dosage chart requires knowing which convention that chart used.

When your vial doesn't match the reference ratio

A vial mixed with a different water volume still follows the same formula — it just won't land on the chart above. Take a 10 mg vial mixed with 1 mL of water instead of the reference 2 mL: concentration is 10 ÷ 1 = 10 mg/mL, or 10,000 mcg/mL, which is 100 mcg per unit. A 750 mcg target dose at that concentration is 750 ÷ 100 = 7.5 units — a fractional reading that doesn't sit cleanly on a syringe marked in whole units.

That's a signal to change the water volume rather than round the draw up or down. This is the case the peptide reconstitution calculator is built for: enter the vial size and water volume actually on hand, and it runs the same concentration-to-units math for any combination, not just the round numbers in a reference chart. Its reverse mode also works the other direction — enter a target dose and a desired unit reading, and it returns the water volume that produces it.

ARA-290 at a glance

ARA-290, also known as cibinetide, is a small synthetic peptide corresponding to a surface region of erythropoietin (EPO), designed to engage EPO's tissue-protective signaling separately from the receptor pathway responsible for red blood cell stimulation. Its human research base is smaller and more preliminary than its underlying mechanism data, and it is not FDA-approved for any use. It is sold as a research compound, not a drug or supplement, and nothing in an ARA-290 dosage chart describes an approved or recommended human dose — it describes arithmetic, which holds regardless of a compound's regulatory status.

Common mistakes

• Reading a unit count from this ARA-290 dosage chart against the wrong vial. A number in the table only applies at the 10 mg vial, 2 mL water reference point. Confirm the actual water volume used before drawing.
• Assuming vial size alone sets units per dose. As the worked examples above show, it's the ratio of mg to water — not vial size on its own — that sets concentration and units.
• Mixing up mg and mcg. ARA-290 vials are typically labeled in milligrams while doses are usually described in micrograms (1 mg = 1000 mcg). A missed decimal here is a thousand-fold error.
• Rounding mid-calculation. Carry the full decimal through the mL step and only round the final unit reading, and only if the syringe requires it.

Use the calculator

This ARA-290 dosage chart covers one common reference point, but your vial and target dose may not match it exactly. Enter your vial size, water volume, and target dose into the free peptide calculator for an exact unit count, or run its reverse mode to find the water volume that lands a given dose on a whole unit mark. For the step-by-step mixing process and more on ARA-290 itself, see the ARA-290 reconstitution calculator guide.