Serum Aluminium Unit Converter
Serum Aluminium Unit Converter
Convert serum aluminium between µg/L, ng/mL, µmol/L and nmol/L. This is a dialysis and parenteral-nutrition test, UK laboratories report it in µmol/L and US laboratories in ng/mL, and contamination at collection is the dominant error.
Serum Aluminium converter
Mass ⇄ molarSerum aluminium 60 µg/L in a haemodialysis patient — Mayo’s dialysis limit
The conversion, and the two unit systems this test lives in
µg/L = µmol/L × 0.0269815
nmol/L = µmol/L × 1,000 · ng/mL = µg/L
- 0.0370624
- from aluminium’s atomic weight, 26.9815384 (CIAAW 2024). The SAS laboratory’s published pairs check it independently: 2.2 µmol/L is printed as 60 µg/L and 3.7 µmol/L as 100 µg/L, both within 1%
- ng/mL = µg/L
- the same quantity. Mayo prints ng/mL, ARUP µg/L and UK renal units µmol/L, so one result can reach a clinician in three spellings
- aluminium-silicate
- what most evacuated tube stoppers are made of. Mayo measures 20 to 60 ng/mL of contamination from such tubes, and up to 15 ng/mL even from a royal blue BD top
Worked example
Serum aluminium 60 µg/L in a haemodialysis patient — Mayo's dialysis limit
60 × 0.0370624 = 2.224 µmol/L
= 60 ng/mL = 2,224 nmol/L
The SAS laboratory prints this same figure as "> 2.2 µmol/L (60 µg/L)", the level above which it reads excessive accumulation — the two laboratories agree on the threshold and disagree only on the unit
Eight and a half times the limit for a patient with normal renal function
Serum aluminium: the thresholds, in both unit systems
| Figure | µg/L (ng/mL) | µmol/L | Source and meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reference interval, normal renal function | 0 – 7 | 0 – 0.26 | Mayo AL |
| Reference interval | 0.0 – 15.0 | 0 – 0.56 | ARUP 0099266 |
| Reference interval | < 10.8 | < 0.4 | SAS |
| Dialysis patients | < 60 | < 2.22 | Mayo AL |
| Overload | > 50 | > 1.85 | ARUP: may correlate with toxicity |
| Excessive accumulation | > 60 | > 2.2 | SAS |
| High risk of toxicity in all patients | > 200 | > 7.4 | SAS |
Where the aluminium comes from, and where the error comes from
| Route | Detail |
|---|---|
| The collection tube | Aluminium-silicate stoppers: 20 – 60 ng/mL from an ordinary tube |
| Dialysis water | Limit 10 µg/L (0.37 µmol/L); dialysate 30 µg/L (1.1 µmol/L) |
| Phosphate binders | Aluminium hydroxide, partly absorbed in renal failure |
| Parenteral nutrition | Trace contamination of components, accumulating over months |
| Antacids and sucralfate | Oral aluminium with no renal route out |
A test that is mostly about the tube
Serum aluminium in µg/L becomes µmol/L on multiplication by 0.0370624, from aluminium’s atomic weight of 26.9815384. ng/mL and µg/L are the same number, which matters here because the three sources a clinician is likely to be holding use three spellings: Mayo reports ng/mL, ARUP µg/L and UK renal units µmol/L. The factor can be checked against published pairs rather than taken on trust — the SAS Trace Element laboratory prints its own thresholds in both units at once, as 2.2 µmol/L (60 µg/L), 3.7 µmol/L (100 µg/L) and 7.4 µmol/L (200 µg/L), and all three reproduce on this mass to within 1%.
The clinical question is almost always dialysis or parenteral nutrition. In renal failure the kidney cannot clear aluminium, dialysis itself removes it poorly, and the exposures are iatrogenic: dialysis water, aluminium-containing phosphate binders, albumin and oral antacids. Accumulation produces a low-turnover bone disease — aluminium replaces calcium at the mineralisation front and disrupts osteoid formation — and, historically, the encephalopathy known as dialysis dementia. Water quality standards largely ended both: dialysis water must be under 10 µg/L (0.37 µmol/L) and dialysate under 30 µg/L (1.1 µmol/L).
Which leaves contamination as the error that actually changes results, and Mayo quantifies it more candidly than most laboratories do. Most evacuated tubes have rubber stoppers made of aluminium-silicate, and Mayo states that "simple puncture of the rubber stopper for blood collection is sufficient to contaminate the specimen"; such tubes show 20 to 60 ng/mL of aluminium, which spans the entire dialysis reference range. Even a royal blue BD top can add up to 15 ng/mL. A raised serum aluminium from anything other than a certified metal-free tube should be repeated before it is believed.
The reference intervals themselves disagree twofold: Mayo publishes under 7 µg/L for normal renal function and ARUP 0.0 to 15.0 µg/L, with SAS at under 0.4 µmol/L (10.8 µg/L) in between. ARUP adds that above 50 µg/L is consistent with overload. The companion tests in a renal bone work-up are parathyroid hormone, calcium and phosphate, staged by CKD GFR stage.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert serum aluminium from µg/L to µmol/L?
Multiply by 0.0370624, from aluminium’s atomic weight of 26.9815384. A serum aluminium of 60 µg/L is 2.224 µmol/L. To go back, multiply µmol/L by 0.0269815. ng/mL and µg/L are identical.
What is a normal serum aluminium?
The laboratories disagree by about twofold. Mayo publishes under 7 ng/mL for normal renal function and under 60 ng/mL for dialysis patients; ARUP publishes 0.0 to 15.0 µg/L; the SAS laboratory publishes under 0.4 µmol/L, which is 10.8 µg/L. A result of 10 µg/L is therefore raised at Mayo and normal at ARUP.
Why does the collection tube matter so much?
Because most evacuated tube stoppers are made of aluminium-silicate. Mayo states that puncturing the stopper alone contaminates the specimen, and measures 20 to 60 ng/mL of aluminium from such tubes — more than the whole general-population reference range. A certified metal-free tube is required.
Why do dialysis patients have a different reference figure?
They cannot clear aluminium renally, haemodialysis removes it inefficiently, and they are exposed through dialysis water, phosphate binders and albumin. Mayo therefore gives them their own figure, under 60 ng/mL, rather than the under 7 it uses for normal renal function.
What does aluminium accumulation actually cause?
A low-turnover osteomalacia, because aluminium replaces calcium at the mineralisation front and disrupts osteoid formation, and historically the encephalopathy called dialysis dementia. Both became rare once water-quality limits of 10 µg/L for dialysis water were enforced.
Related calculators
References
- Mayo Clinic Laboratories. Aluminum, serum (AL) — reference values and cautions. Test catalogue, test ID 8373; 2026. "<7 ng/mL" and "<60 ng/mL (dialysis patients)"; common tubes have "rubber stoppers…comprised of aluminum-silicate" and "simple puncture of the rubber stopper…is sufficient to contaminate the specimen", such tubes showing "20 to 60 ng/mL aluminum".
- ARUP Laboratories. Aluminum, serum. Laboratory Test Directory 0099266; 2026. "0.0-15.0 µg/L"; "Serum aluminum greater than 50.0 µg/L is consistent with overload and may correlate with toxicity".
- Supraregional Assay Service, Trace Element laboratory. Aluminium. sas-centre.org; accessed October 2026. Serum or plasma "Less than 0.4" µmol/L; "> 2.2 µmol/L (60 µg/L)", "> 3.7 µmol/L (100 µg/L)", "7.4 µmol/L (200 µg/L)"; dialysate "should not exceed 1.1 µmol/L (30 µg/L)"; water "must be below 0.37 µmol/L (10 µg/L)".
- Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights, IUPAC. Standard Atomic Weights 2024. ciaaw.org; accessed October 2026. As 74.921595(6), Mn 54.938043(2), Al 26.9815384(3), Cr 51.9961(6), Co 58.933194(3), Tl [204.382, 204.385]; for the interval elements the IUPAC abridged values Tl 204.38, C 12.011, N 14.007 are used.
Not medical advice. For healthcare professionals and education. Reference intervals vary by laboratory and assay — always use your own laboratory's. Never base a dose or a treatment decision on this page alone. Full disclaimer at calcengines.com/disclaimer/