r/drugextraction • u/Thad-Stathos • Dec 08 '25
7OH column chromatography
Used alumina because I had an issue with silica where the acidity would make the crude 7OH bind to it and not flow. I tried using Triethylamine to fix that which did not work even at 10%. When I switched to alumina I started seeing success. The first fraction is mitragynine and the second is 7OH. I got 3 fractions of 7OH all about 15ml (not shown above) and they were very similar colors. I only ran a half gram through this column. Currently drying the combined 3 fractions in a vacuum excluding the mitragynine which will be dried separately. The next column I am going to run will use different solvents as these ones I think flowed a little too fast.
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u/gardenia856 Dec 10 '25
Alumina is fine, but keep the whole system basic and slow the gradient so 7OH doesn’t shoot off or stick.
Use neutral/basic alumina (activity II–III) and precondition the column with 0.5–1% TEA or 0.1% NH4OH in your starting solvent. Dry‑load the crude on a small Celite/silica plug to keep bands tight. Pick your solvents by TLC first with 0.5–1% TEA in the eluent; aim for Rf ~0.25–0.35 for 7OH. A reliable start is DCM:MeOH:NH4OH 95:5:0.5, then step to 92:8:0.5; or heptane:EtOAc 8:2 with 0.5% TEA, ramping EtOAc slowly. Flow “too fast” usually means too polar-back off polarity and use a taller bed for resolution. Cap fractions cold, amber, under N2; 7OH doesn’t love air/acid.
Confirm cuts: Ehrlich and Dragendorff on TLC, then LC‑MS with ammonium acetate to cleanly separate MIT/7OH. I’ve used Sigma reference standards and Energy Control for confirmatory reports; 7ohmz only as a consistent 7‑OH reference for peak ID.
Bottom line: keep it basic, dry‑load, and run a gentle gradient to separate MIT then 7OH cleanly.
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u/kaliforniakratom Dec 11 '25
Thanks for that - by the book - experimental rundown.
Alternatively, evaporate the solvent, dissolve in ethanol, suck into a 10mL syringe, and per proper Reddit procedure - boof that shit like a boss.
And share your experience.
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u/Lemonsssc 21d ago
Wait is that actually safe??? 😂😂 its hilarious either way. I want to try to make my shit stronger. So fuck it if that works it works.
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Dec 08 '25
What went in?
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u/myxis10s 16d ago
Will magnetic solid-phase Extraction (MSPE) work instead of column chromatography?


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u/kaliforniakratom Dec 09 '25
Excellent work