Making Luminol

[actualfactual]

I know some of us have fun with a bit of kitchen chemistry so I thought I'd share this.. haven't done it myself yet but it is on the list of things to do!

[youtube]

If you don't want to watch the vid, here's the basic procedure:

* Extract bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate from vinyl gloves by boiling in isopropanol.
* Hydrolyze off the 2-ethylhexanol with sodium hydroxide (drain cleaner).
* Acidify with hydrochloric acid (available as a pool chemical, muriatic acid) to get phthalic acid.
* Heat the phthalic acid to high temperature, forming pure phthalic anhydride by distillation.
* Nitrate the phthalic anhydride via treatment with sulfuric acid (liquid drain cleaner) and sodium nitrate (obtained by treating ammonium nitrate, from instant cold packs, with sodium hydroxide).
* Add to water to hydrolyze the anhydride - the desired 3-nitrophthalic acid is less soluble than the contaminant 4-nitrophthalic acid.
* Condense with hydrazine, using hydrazine sulfate and sodium acetate trihydrate. Hydrazine sulfate can be obtained via the ketazine process. Add methyl ethyl ketone (available as a cleaning solvent at hardware stores) to concentrated ammonia (a cleaner). Slowly add a sodium hypochlorite solution (household bleach works). Treat the ketazine with dilute sulfuric acid to hydrolyze and form the hydrazine sulfate. Sodium acetate is available from certain kinds of instant hot packs, or from combining vinegar and baking soda. Combine the two salts and the nitrophthalic acid, with polyethylene glycol (brake fluid) as solvent. Heat.
* Reduce the nitro group to an amino group via treatment with sodium hydroxide, sodium metabisulfite (stump remover), and aluminum (aluminum foil).
* Quench with sodium bisulfate (pH lowering chemical for pools). Work up by extracting with an acetone-water mix (acetone is available as a solvent at hardware stores), then wash with water.

 

[benzyme]

all fun and good, but this may violate the 'no synthtalk' rules
(you know, safety concerns...ex. the emission of NO2 gas is a serious hazard outside an inert fume hood)

 

[actualfactual]

you are right I wasn't even thinking about the rules.. Mods if this is no good I apologize and you can go ahead and delete this!

 

[benzyme]

hell, I think it's cool; nothing illegal here, unless you have draconian laws like Texas.
if i was mod i'd leave it, but write a disclaimer and mention the hazards.

 

[idtravlr]

Very cool! So this TEK creates activated Luminol it appears. As opposed to forensic luminol that doesn't activate until it comes in contact with mammalian DNA of some sort...

Looks like a fun project regardless.

Peace,
-idt

 

[benzyme]

As opposed to forensic luminol that doesn't activate until it comes in contact with mammalian DNA of some sort...

actually the activator of luminol is some sort of oxidizer. the oxidation reaction from combining luminol with,say..hydrogen peroxide, emits photons of light. they also couple reactions to peroxidase enzymes, often horseradish peroxidase, in biochem to create the same effect

 

[idtravlr]

As opposed to forensic luminol that doesn't activate until it comes in contact with mammalian DNA of some sort...

actually the activator of luminol is some sort of oxidizer. the oxidation reaction from combining luminol with,say..hydrogen peroxide, emits photons of light. they also couple reactions to peroxidase enzymes, often horseradish peroxidase, in biochem to create the same effect

Interesting. So if I wanted to taint a crime scene (not that I have plans too...) I could just splash around some hydrogen peroxide, or horseradish peroxidase? So, what is the oxidizer in blood that creates the reaction?

On a separate note benzyme - I posted a thread on gas extraction. I was actually thinking of you for potential answers on this. If you have any insight I'd love to hear it!

Peace,
-idt

 

[LawnBoy]

Yeah, synth seems so far over my head. I wouldn't dare, but I'd love if a friend had the balls to give it a go :lol:

Make a Glow Stick Reaction Using Real Chemicals

Make a Glow Stick Reaction Using Real Chemicals: Here I show you how to make a glow stick reaction with real chemicals. Yes this is a repost, i made a huge mistake on the last one The glowstick reaction is made using a diphenyl oxalate derivative known as bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)oxalate or TCP…

www.instructables.com

I sometimes find myself lured toward "glowing" lights.

 

[SnozzleBerry]

hell, I think it's cool; nothing illegal here, unless you have draconian laws like Texas.
if i was mod i'd leave it, but write a disclaimer and mention the hazards.

Benz...would you be willing to write a disclaimer that could be inserted into the post by one of the mods?

 

[benzyme]

So if I wanted to taint a crime scene (not that I have plans too...) I could just splash around some hydrogen peroxide, or horseradish peroxidase? So, what is the oxidizer in blood that creates the reaction?

the oxidizer is still the peroxide, but the iron in red blood cells serves as a metal catalyst
in the chemiluminescent reaction. if you wanted to taint a crime scene, you'd spray the area with a solution that would chelate the iron, then wash it away; another alternative is HCl..
the low pH will disrupt the folding of hemoglobin, and the iron would form salts with chloride ions (FeCl2), preventing it from acting as a metal catalyst

 

[The Traveler]

hell, I think it's cool; nothing illegal here, unless you have draconian laws like Texas.
if i was mod i'd leave it, but write a disclaimer and mention the hazards.

If you can write the disclaimer/safety guide for this then I think we can leave this open. It might be good to show people some chemistry and the safety thats needed for it.


Kind regards,

The Traveler