[Ringodoggie]

Montana Biotech "Grow Buddy" TLC Kit for Testing THC and CBD Potency.

Anyone try one of these? I have one coming and I am open to hints, tips and traps from anyone who has used one.

It's a basic TLC starter kit.

First off, the developer is a small cardboard box. Pat Cattans has a nice 12" tall glass enclosure for $11. The frame is metal but it's glass on all 6 sides. Should I get the glass one?

Also, they recommend JustTLC as the applicable software but it's pretty expensive. Are there any open source programs that can be used in place of JustTLC?

Thanks

[Ringodoggie]

I did find this. Looks pretty neat. Open source and runs under GNU Octave.

https://www.ing.unrc.edu.ar/grupos/si...nts/index.html

[Ringodoggie]

I got this kit and I'm going to run my first tests.

There is a small amount of record keeping done to identify and link the samples, the plates, the results. etc.

I wonder, is there a standard lab / science report form that is commonly used for TLC?

[Ringodoggie]

Before I do this for my first time and ruin a plate, I am going to ask a few questions. I am sending these questions to the manufacturer and I'll post the answers here in case someone searching later on finds this thread.

There is a series of 10 videos on YouTube demonstrating this kit.

Here is the intro. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty_Xw5ftT7c

A quick search of Grow Buddy TLC will score all 10 videos. Or, they are here... https://montanabiotech.com/2013/03/2...phy-t-l-c-kit/

1. In the video demonstration, they extract the samples using chloroform and 1.5ml centrifuge vials. They show him putting the sample in the vial and adding the extraction agent (chloroform). In the next video when he is taking samples of the extract, he mentions that there is cotton in the vial but he made no prior mention of it in the previous video. I assume that the cotton simply filters the cannabis chunks so they don't get into the capillary tube. Is that correct?

2. In one of the videos, they show pouring the entire bottle of developing agent into the developing jar and adding the plates. They say that when the plates are done (when the solvent reaches the top of the plate) to remove the plates and let them dry. What about the remaining solvent in the jar? Do I pour it back into the original container and re-use it next time? Do I just leave it in the jar and keep the jar closed until next time. Or, is it dead and I need to discard it and buy new for next time?

I am going to go through a dry run today and see what other questions come up. Once I'm satisfied that I know what I'm doing I make a run of 4 strains (one plate).

Also, in my future is replenishing the consumables.

Just how dangerous is it to make your own Chloroform with bleach and acetate, other than the obvious respiratory precautions?

Also, the developing agent is a mix of chloroform and ethylene chloride. Any way to know what % of each is in that mix?

Making your own plates seems pretty safe and simple.

EDIT: The solvent system used was a mixture of chloroform (ethanol-free) and l,l-dichloroethane (15:10) with simple ascending TLC on 10 x 20 cm silica gel pre-coated plates with a layer thickness of 0.25 mm (E. Merck, Darmstadt, G.F.R., Art. No. 5729) [ 46] .

[Ringodoggie]

Well, I finally got around to running this test kit, today. Pretty neat.

I didn't get the results I was expecting but I'm still working on reading these.

The only thing I didn't like about this kit was the dye sprayer doesn't work for shit and the plates already had marks on them. I would rather place my own marks. A couple of theirs were real close to the edge.

Overall, I nice little kit.

[Ringodoggie]

Pretty cool quantification tool.....

[Ringodoggie]

Hey gang. Any of you who do home TLC....

Here are 2 plates that have basically gone through the same thing, yet one is pretty clear and the other is badly blurred.

Can anyone tell me what I did wrong to the one to make it blur so badly?

Thanks

[Nup]

Sample size and solvent mix are probably most likely to cause some spreading.

[Ringodoggie]

Thanks for the input.

By solvent mix, do you mean the developing solvent or extraction solvent?

Although, they both went through the same solvent, anyway.

Perhaps it was sample size. I used a measured capillary tube but user error may have made them different sizes.

Thanks again.

[Nup]

No worries, just throwing ideas around, thats what i remember when doing it, its been a bit though

Yeah, the developing solvent - mobile phase. Different ratios of the mixtures. Tough to know what the issue is, especially if they used the same solvent!
it´d be nice if the mag had a dedicated analysis sub section.
Capillary tubes can be a bit hard to use sometimes alright.

Nice to see some TLC on the forums. I hope to look into it also at some stage. The kits to buy can be a bit expensive, but a nice starting point.