BeanyBoy - 8-3-2007 at 13:34
Hi,
My sinus problems have gotten much worse since they stopped using Thimerosal (phenyl mercuric acetate) as a preservative in nose sprays, and started
instead to use benzalkonium chloride.
I don't want to wait two decades to reverse the current anti-mercury hysteria that's still sweeping through our nation. And somehow I doubt I can
order a small-enough-to-be-affordable quantity of oxymetazoline HCL sans-preservative.
Would it be eeasier to synthesize the oxymetazlonine HCL than it would be to remove the Benzalkonium?
tia,
-the beaner
Ozone - 8-3-2007 at 18:09
I cannot believe that something with the track record of thimerosal would be replaced by benzalkonium chloride when there are numerous citations
available to why it is unsafe! It is good for topical uses, but causes problems when in contact with mucosal tissue (like the insides of your nose,
sinus, etc.).
See:
http://www.ursatec.de/weiter_literatur.htm
for some interesting references.
Looking at the molecule (Merck) tells me that removal of the offender would probably be cheaper (and likely, faster), but not necessarily easier.
Trying to remove a quat is a pain-in-the-ass as they are efficient phase transfer catalysts, and high boiling, to-boot.
Chemically, viz. extraction seems maybe doable, but care must be taken not to disrupt the imine, and damn near anything, including a pH shift has been
knwon to do that...
I'll try to look a bit further into this.
Good question,
O3
contrived - 10-3-2007 at 17:48
I have Kroger sinus spray with Oxymetazoline HCl. I did a search online and couldn't find the inert ingresients list and it's not on the bottle ...
if you haven't tried it .. we like it!
mr. knows it all
stoichiometric_steve - 15-3-2007 at 04:03
please allow me the anality and let me correct your spelling:
the thing you want back in the spray is called
THIO MER SAL - thio-mercuryl-salicylate
thank you.
edit: maybe you should try NOT taking any decongestant, as you might know, they tend to make things worse.
edit2: O3, where do you see an imine in there? all i see is an amidine.
[Edited on 15-3-2007 by stoichiometric_steve]
[Edited on 15-3-2007 by stoichiometric_steve]
sparkgap - 15-3-2007 at 19:30
*sigh* thiomersal, thimerosal. they're both acceptable spellings. No need to be so anal. 
I'm with O3 on this one. The quat'll be a PITA to snag from the solution.
sparky (~_~)