[ExI] Human Testing

[david]

On Sat, 3 Mar 2012 06:39:10 -0800
"spike" <spike66 at att.net> wrote:



> If so, bexarotene might be a huge leap forward, for it is low cost
> (if taken at reagent grade) and its side effects are probably mild in
> most patients. 
 
> spike
> 


It has been a long time since I seriously studied chemistry, but given
that the data sheets claim it to be "moderately soluble in ethanol
(with warming)" the reageant grade would seem to be a candidate for a
simple re-crystallization.

Basically, warm up some alcohol, saturate it with reagent grade
bexarotene, filter off the liquid and throw away the solids - this gets
rid of insoluble impurities.  
Then you cool it down to crystallize the bexarotene, and filter again.
Most of the remaining impurities will remain in solution. The solids
this time will be almost pure bexarotene. 

Personally, this would be enough for oral medication, but I would be a
lot more wary if you are planning to inject it.

A currently practicing chemist would certainly do better, but
re-crystallization is something you could do at home with minimal
equipment, and with reasonable yields - from memory I think we got in
the range of 40 to 80% recovery.

-David