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Topic: Identifying and isolating tetramethylrhodamine B isothiocyanate  (Read 3140 times)

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Offline harmonictime

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Hello Everyone,

tetramethylrhodamine B isothiocyanate and Fluorescein isothiocyanate are found in the mushroom known as amanita Phalloides,  They are bolth valuable in the industry of manufacturing lightbulbs,

I wish to know how i could learn to isolate and extract and safely store (stabely) these  chemicals from the mushroom.

I am currently a Mycologist and understand some basic chemistry, I do not go to college but am a successfuly self taught mycologist and am confident that I can be a self taught chemist as well, so please if you would spare your judgements that I am not a "graduated or under-graduate professional"
We all have different views on education and I beleive we should respect each others views.

Forgive me if I have made any assumptiuons,  the jist of it is I would to be pointed in the right direction, as far as equipment and supplies I would need to identify and isolate chemicals from a mushroom, any suggested books or websites that deal with this specific process in general or the general practice of isolating and iodentifying chemicals in an organic substance such as a mushroom with the goal of isolating and extracting?

Thank you all for your time and consideration

Offline Arkcon

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Re: Identifying and isolating tetramethylrhodamine B isothiocyanate
« Reply #1 on: August 12, 2012, 06:56:40 PM »
First I'd like to see a reliable source that says that this particular mushroom species actually contains these fluorescent compounds.  A little Googling shows those two words together, but it seems more like Sigma-Aldrich has conjugated them together for biochemistry applications.  Working out a general purification plan would depend on both the properties of these dyes, as well as the structure and properties of common fugal components.  Which is likely mostly chitin, an insoluble bio-polymer.
Hey, I'm not judging.  I just like to shoot straight.  I'm a man of science.

Offline discodermolide

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Re: Identifying and isolating tetramethylrhodamine B isothiocyanate
« Reply #2 on: August 12, 2012, 10:47:33 PM »
This is the death cap mushroom as I'm sure you are aware.
It would be easier to buy these compounds from Aldrich than to extract and purify them from this particular mushroom.
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Offline harmonictime

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Re: Identifying and isolating tetramethylrhodamine B isothiocyanate
« Reply #3 on: August 13, 2012, 01:22:09 AM »
Well I can understand your reasoning it would be easier to just by these compounds,  except the whole reason i want to extract them is so I can sell them,  I have no use for them myself other than selling them for the $100 to $250 per mg that they go for

Offline discodermolide

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Re: Identifying and isolating tetramethylrhodamine B isothiocyanate
« Reply #4 on: August 13, 2012, 01:29:00 AM »
Well I can understand your reasoning it would be easier to just by these compounds,  except the whole reason i want to extract them is so I can sell them,  I have no use for them myself other than selling them for the $100 to $250 per mg that they go for

Do you know the levels of these compounds in the mushroom. How many mg/Kg do they contain?

Purification will be a real problem for you and will cost a lot of cash. To achieve the purity required will be difficult. That's why it would be easier to buy them and re-sell.
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Offline Arkcon

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Re: Identifying and isolating tetramethylrhodamine B isothiocyanate
« Reply #5 on: August 13, 2012, 10:53:32 AM »
I'm going to try to explain it again to you, harmonictime:, and I hope you'll try to work with us to reach an answer to your problem that's worthwhile for everyone.  Yes, even an answer of, "I can't be done." or "There isn't anything to extract, you're confusing terms" are worthwhile responses for this forum, to help out the next new person who arrives via a Google search.

You seem to want isothiocyanate derivatives of two common manufactured fluorescent dyes.  I don't think these dyes are present in the various species of the Amanita genus.  But I don't think these dyes are present.  Do you have a reference that says these dyes are present?  Because I'd like to read about that.  But the isothiocyanate derivative would never be a biological product, its too reactive, and would end up bound to proteins, this is why Sigma-Aldrich makes the isothiocyanate, so people can reactant it to proteins.  They seem to be going this commercially, using this reagent to bind the fluorescent dye to a toxic mushroom protein, for use in biochemical tracing experiments.

And just to save you some time asking, we won't be discussing, on this forum, a detailed plan for extracting the mushroom's toxin.
Hey, I'm not judging.  I just like to shoot straight.  I'm a man of science.

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