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How-to · reconstitution

How to reconstitute Thymosin alpha-1 5 mg

In this example, 1 mL of bacteriostatic water in a 5 mg Thymosin alpha-1 vial gives 5.00 mg/mL. An example 1.6 mg amount is then 32.0 units on a U-100 syringe.

This example lands on a syringe line. More water makes a weaker mix and a bigger draw. Less water makes a stronger mix and a smaller one. The amount of Thymosin alpha-1 stays the same. Use the diluent and volume specified for your product; the arithmetic alone does not choose them.

What matters first

Example water volume
1 mL
Resulting strength
5.00 mg/mL
Example 1.6 mg dose
32.0 U-100 units

How much bacteriostatic water for a 5 mg Thymosin alpha-1 vial?

◆ Unique to the 5 mg vialU-100 example draws
Water addedConcentrationPer U-100 unitExample: 1.6 mg =
1 mL5.00 mg/mL50 mcg32.0 units
2 mL2.50 mg/mL25 mcg64.0 units

Straight arithmetic: concentration = 5 mg ÷ liquid volume, and 1 U-100 unit = 0.01 mL. The example column shows the math at 1.6 mg; it is not a dose recommendation.

The table compares possible concentrations; it does not establish which diluent or volume suits your product. Follow its dispensing instructions.

“Hard to measure” means the example draw is below two U-100 units. “Won’t fit” means it exceeds this syringe’s capacity.

Thymosin alpha-1 5 mg vial: example mixing volumes. Each row is what that amount draws on a U-100 syringe. 1 mL makes 5.00 mg/mL, or 50 mcg a unit, and 1.6 mg is 32 units. 2 mL makes 2.50 mg/mL, or 25 mcg a unit, and 1.6 mg is 64 units. The barrel drawn here is filled to 32 units, the draw at 1 mL. The sum is 5 mg divided by the liquid volume. One U-100 unit is 0.01 mL.
The 5 mg vial at 1 mL on a U-100 barrel. 1.6 mg fills to 32.0 units, at 5.00 mg/mL.

Medically reviewed by Kenneth Montecillo, MD2026-09-07open the primary sources

What is Thymosin alpha-1?

Thymosin alpha-1 is a peptide 28 amino acids long, first pulled out of calf thymus extract in the 1970s. It acts on how T cells mature and signal.

How many units is a documented dose from this vial?

The table above uses one worked example. These are the published quantities, converted into marks on a U-100 barrel at each listed liquid volume for a 5 mg vial. Where a quantity was never studied by injection, the row says so.

1.6 mg — studied in a trial

1.6 mg twice a week, for 26 or 52 weeks, in a 98-patient randomized trial in chronic hepatitis B, under the skin.

1.6 mg once daily for the first week, then twice a week to week 12, in a 120-patient randomized trial in hepatitis-B-related acute-on-chronic liver failure, under the skin.

1.6 mg every 12 hours for up to seven days, under the skin. The regimen of the 1,106-participant phase 3 trial that found no mortality benefit.

Water addedConcentrationDraw
1 mL5.00 mg/mL32.0 units
2 mL2.50 mg/mL64.0 units

Human trialChien RN, et al. Hepatitis B virus genotype B is associated with better response to thymosin alpha1 therapy than genotype C. J Viral Hepat 2006;13(12):845-50 · retrieved 2026-08-12

Human trialChen JF, et al. Safety and efficacy of Thymosin alpha1 in the treatment of hepatitis B virus-related acute-on-chronic liver failure: a randomized controlled trial. Hepatol Int 2022;16(4):775-88 · retrieved 2026-08-12

Human trialNCT02867267 — The Efficacy and Safety of Thymosin Alpha 1 for Sepsis (TESTS): multicentre, double-blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial · retrieved 2026-08-12

1.6–6.4 mg — studied in a trial

1.6–6.4 mg on days 8–11 and 15–18 of each 28-day cycle, under the skin. The three arms (1.6, 3.2 and 6.4 mg) of a 488-participant phase 2 dose-ranging trial in metastatic melanoma.

Water addedConcentrationDraw, low to high
1 mL5.00 mg/mL32.0 to 128.0 unitswon’t fit
2 mL2.50 mg/mL64.0 to 256.0 unitswon’t fit

Human trialNCT00911443 — Phase 2 multicentre randomised dose-ranging study of dacarbazine plus interferon alpha plus thymosin alpha 1 in advanced metastatic malignant melanoma (488 participants) · retrieved 2026-08-12

Three draws of a quantity the trials actually settled on

Unlike most research vials in this family, the amount in the table is one the trials used repeatedly, with only the interval changing between them. This vial holds three of it.

3Read the full vial record — 3 notes

Three draws is a short vial

Because the amount is milligram-scale rather than micrograms, the powder divides into very few doses. Most research vials in this family stretch to dozens.

That changes what the page is for. Even a short portion count needs storage instructions. It does not show that a container can be used more than once.

The water volume changes the draw size but does not change the amount of drug or the theoretical portion count. Those remain the same at either displayed volume.

The trials mixed a smaller vial than this

The cited studies used their own products. A vial with more drug needs instructions for that vial. A matching amount per dose does not make its mixing method the same.

Both examples land on whole units. That makes the sums easy to compare. The product instructions still need to say which liquid to use, how to mix it and how it should be kept.

Approved elsewhere is not approved here

This medicine exists under another name in several countries and has never been approved in the United States. The cited trials treated specific illnesses; their results do not establish general wellness benefits.

Research-grade material is not the product any of those approvals or trials refers to, whatever the milligrams on the glass say.

How do you mix it, step by step?

  1. Wipe both stoppers with an alcohol swab and let them dry.
  2. Check the product’s mixing instructions for the correct diluent and volume before drawing it up.
  3. Let the water run slowly down the inside wall of the Thymosin alpha-1 vial, rather than jetting it onto the powder.
  4. Follow the product’s instructions for mixing and checking the solution before use. Do not assume every powder uses the same method.
  5. Store it as the dispensing label directs. What happens after mixing differs by product — some labels direct against refrigerating the mixed solution at all.

What if your water volume is not on the table?

The calculator lets you enter your product’s vial strength and mixing volume, then shows the arithmetic for your syringe.

Open the Thymosin alpha-1 calculator →

Where to read next about Thymosin alpha-1

The arithmetic on this page is only half the question. These are the pages that carry the other half.

How strong the evidence is for Thymosin alpha-1

The strongest source for Thymosin alpha-1 is a foreign approval or thin human data.

Vial, water and dose for any peptide, with Thymosin alpha-1 as one example

U-100, U-50 and U-40 barrels each read differently, including Thymosin alpha-1

What the FDA has published on Thymosin alpha-1

What has been decided, and what has only been proposed, including Thymosin alpha-1

Find mixing guides for Thymosin alpha-1

Find vial-specific mixing tables as you explore Thymosin alpha-1.

4primary sources, each with the day we read it — open the documents used on this page