[sadpanda]

i wonder what the "Base solution" is?
Fast Blue BB Salt hemi(zinc chloride) salt : https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/.../f3378?lang=en <- this is the one im presuming everyone gets
Fast Blue BB Base solution: https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/...ma/917?lang=en

[G.O. Joe]

BB base is the BB version of the o-dianisidine I mentioned earlier. No azo dye without the azo part. If you want to do some organic chemistry with it to get BB salt, you'll need the totally inorganic sodium nitrite, concentrated hydrochloric acid, salt, and zinc chloride. And some ice.

[sadpanda]

how long does the salt/powder last? for example when you store it in a freezer? as im assuming is best

[G.O. Joe]

That depends on how it's used. If you're going to be dipping large plates you might be looking at the larger bottle. If the bottle is going to be opened many times over a long time, it would be a good idea to divide it up into smaller parts, maybe small plastic airtight vials. There might be some expiration date, but that only carries so much weight. My B salt is fine even though the exp. is Aug 2016. It will not be thrown out in the next several years.

[sadpanda]

thankyou so much. My heart sunk when i first read about how volatile Fast Blue can be but i really appreciate your reassurance, because this is really important as my friend needs to be sure her strains are high CBD and other than lab analysis and Beam's test i can't think of any other ways. Can't just smoke it to find out like with THC lol. I really love that trick of dividing it up into extra bottles to reduce overall exposure too. Now i guess there's just one last hurdle - getting it delivered! Weight isnt an issue at 1gm lol but i wonder if it'll come frozen, hopefully not too expensive P&H

[sadpanda]

AlphaCat comes with "2 microtubes of dye powder (0.06 g). Keep in a dry, dark space."
Cannalytics "put 2ml of water into the spray bottle and add one 20mg scoop of dye powder.. and shake to mix"
None of these test kits seem to mention anything about freezing, so maybe i have been worrying too much about that

[sadpanda]

whats the best solvent(s) to use for the capillary action? (the "eluent"?)
Hexane seems to be popular but often in mixes with chloroform or some ether or alcohol or something. This guy gets good looking results from hexane/chloroform https://www.alchimiaweb.com/blogen/m...noid-analysis/

[sadpanda]

i noticed Sirchie's kit (LEO purchase only so i would imagine quite professional and they seem pretty advanced), it has PDFs so i had a look at those, VERY INFORMATIVE!
They/Sirchie use:
Mobile Reagent = 60% chloroform, 40% Hydrocarbons C>=5, C5-6-rich.
Extract Reagent = Hydrocarbons C>=5, C5-6-rich.
Color Capsule = Fast blue B salt. (i wonder what reasons for B instead of BB?)

But then i thought "but _what_ 'hydrocarbons' exactly? that sounds a bit vague!"... but it mentions the CAS number of each, so i looked it up (68476-50-6), and it turns out their "Hydrocarbons C>=5, C5-6-rich" = petroleum ether

So now the question is what's best!? hexane... chloroform... petroleum ether... on their own or together and what ratio? or perhaps Sirchie has already figured out whats best and this is it? but maybe hexane is more affordable/convenient, or... ???

[sadpanda]

btw ive got to link this page, its actually from 1974 but seemingly every bit as relevant today!?! It's about cannabinoid testing via TLC, but specifically about the different dyes (Fast Blue B, Fast Blue BB, Fast Corinth V etc) and pros and cons of each ... https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-...4_page004.html

[SkyHighLer]

Originally Posted by sadpanda

whats the best solvent(s) to use for the capillary action? (the "eluent"?)
Hexane seems to be popular but often in mixes with chloroform or some ether or alcohol or something. This guy gets good looking results from hexane/chloroform https://www.alchimiaweb.com/blogen/m...noid-analysis/

Pentane (C-5) has little odor compared to hexane (C-6) and chloroform, it dissolves cannabinoids nearly as fast, and will dissolve less chlorophyl.

4oz of reagent grade pentane can be had for $13.50 (free S&H) from eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pentane-ACS-...wAAOSweW5Veu2v Compare your hexane and chloroform options... and here's the petroleum ether, I suggest the highest grade, 35-60C Bp, https://www.ebay.com/itm/Petroleum-Et...EAAOSwZAtXJixW

That's the grade PE I keep around for extractions, the higher Bp grades may contain benzene, not good for extractions... ;-) Here's a 60-80C Bp PE for comparison,
https://www.ebay.com/itm/PETROLEUM-ET...gAAOSwQJhUb48u

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_ether

PE is mostly pentane, purchasing 35-60C Bp PE is a common way to score pentane cheaply.