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Author: Subject: Looking to buy 10L of Benzene!
Boba155
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[*] posted on 10-5-2011 at 08:24
Looking to buy 10L of Benzene!


Hey guys, I'm trying to to extract prostaglandins from coral. The procedure calls for an elution gradient (column chromatography) of about 9L of benzene.

However, I can't purchase this since it's a controlled substance, and I can't synthesize it (don't own distillation gear, etc).

Anyone have any extra? I'd love to buy up to 10L. Name your price.

On a side note, would toluene/pentane work just as well as benzene? Will the fractions be different?
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UKnowNotWatUDo
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[*] posted on 10-5-2011 at 10:22


Based off of the phrasing "controlled substance" I'm going to assume you live in the US. And I guarantee you benzene is not a "controlled substance" here.
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[*] posted on 10-5-2011 at 10:36


I assume by controlled substance you don't mean it's scheduled as a 'drug'

It isn't even a 'watched' chemical in the US according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEA_list_of_chemicals

You should be fine. Just buy it. Are you having trouble finding a source that will ship to individuals?




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unionised
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[*] posted on 10-5-2011 at 10:53


Toluene/ hexane would probably work just as well.
How old is the reference you are using? People may have tried changing to toluene already.
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[*] posted on 10-5-2011 at 11:24


Try toluene or some other solvent. 10L of benzene is not nothing!
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Boba155
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[*] posted on 10-5-2011 at 13:23
My bad


Sorry guys, was a little unclear.

What I meant by "controlled" was that since it's a registered carcinogen it's very difficult to actually FIND a seller who will sell for a reasonable price.

For instance, I really do not want to pay 300$ for 10L of Benzene based on sellers from eBay.

And I also can't buy from organizations like Sigma because I'm an individual.

Perhaps I will try toulene or hexane.

Can I use the same amounts that the process calls for? For instance, if the elution gradient is four stages (4x1000 ml of 25,50,75,100% ethyl acetate in benzene), could I just switch it out with toulene or hexane (4x1000 ml of 25,50,75,100% ethyl acetate in toulene)?

Thanks for the help!
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[*] posted on 11-5-2011 at 06:30


Sigma is going to charge you a fair bit for 10 litres of benzene and not a small amount for 10 litres of toluene.
You must have a fair bit of kit to try and do this.
What size column are you using?
How are you going to concentrate the fractions?
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[*] posted on 11-5-2011 at 11:12


Hexane is not a good substitute for benzene. Toluene is much better.



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