Nanomole

A nanomole (nmol) is a unit of amount of substance in the SI system, defined as one billionth of a mole. Since one mole contains Avogadro’s number of entities, approximately 6.02214076×10^23, one nanomole corresponds to about 6.022×10^14 elementary entities.

In relation to other units, 1 micromole (µmol) equals 1000 nanomoles, and 1 nanomole equals 1000 picomoles (pmol). The nanomole is commonly used for small quantities in chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, and molecular biology, where precise amounts of reagents or products are important.

Usage and context: nmol is used to express small amounts of substances in assays, enzyme reactions, and drug studies. It is often convenient when working with concentrations on the order of nanomoles and when measurements are integrated over small volumes. The unit should not be confused with the concentration unit nanomolar (nM), which denotes nanomoles per liter and is equivalent to a molar concentration of 10^-9 mol/L.

Conversions and calculations: the amount in nanomoles is obtained by multiplying the amount in moles by 1×10^9, or by dividing by 1×10^-9 if converting nmol to moles. To convert mass to nanomoles, nmol = (mass in grams) / (molar mass in g/mol) × 1×10^9. For practical purposes, knowing the molar mass of a substance allows straightforward conversion between mass, moles, and nanomoles.

See also: mole, micromole, picomole, nanomolar.