Drug sterilization--ADVICE!!

[jhon00]

Hi everyone on bluelight I have an account here but as you can tell dont use it all that often Ive been searching around but with no success. In recent years ive become much more of aware of safety issues involved with shooting heroin....mainly what Id like an opinion on is if I could take #4 heroin powder and put it in the microwave for 10-20 sec in an attempt to sterilize it of any bacteria/virus that may be present in it. My concerns with this are if this may degrade the product significantly/ is it really worth doing. So does anyone know if microwaves kill bacteri/virus and can this be done with heroin??
Thanks

 

[Swimmingdancer]

I don't think it's a good idea. It might kill some bacteria/viruses but not all of them (some need upwards of 10 minutes of heat to be destroyed). But it could evaporate a portion of the heroin. The best thing you can do is get yourself a micron filter. This will remove most of the contaminants, particles and bacteria from your drugs. You can learn more about micron filters and how to use them in the Micron Filtering Megathread here.

 

[max_]

microwave will kill virtually nothing. I don't think you can sterilize a drug before injecting without fucking it up into burnt out derivatives. My best guess is you can't. I don't think microwave will help, sorry.

 

[cosmicsunset]

actually you can use a microwave: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8696781

good luck finding a microwave that can perform as well as the system they designed, although I'm guessing you don't need to sterilize 150 shots per minute so maybe you could work out a suitable procedure with a kitchen microwave. It looks like what their system really does is bring the injectable solution to 140 degrees C for 12 seconds in a sealed ampoule (meaning the pressure spikes).

I suspect there are easier ways (like 0.22 micron syringe filters), though the fact that the microwave system supposedly outperforms an autoclave and has such a massive processing rate is pretty cool.

 

[pasha]

I think that study is talking about a bespoke microwave that was developed specifically for such a task. I used to microwave drugs (using a conventional microwave), specifically ketamine but I learned that it's actually a poor method and I lost a lot of potency that way.

Old thread, but I'll keep it open in case anyone wants to add to the discussion of microwaving drugs.

 

[cosmicsunset]

yes, what's described is a highly customized apparatus. The research appears to have been done at a japanese pharmaceutical company.

I don't see why microwaving would damage a molecule any more than other forms of heating. All it does is apply an alternating electromagnetic field to make the polar molecules re-orient back and forth. I believe the forces that hold molecules together are far stronger than what could feasibly be applied with a microwave oven.

However, I've also heard people say to use an oven instead of a microwave for drying ketamine and I've always wondered if it really mattered. The full text of the article I linked to appears to discuss decomposition of active pharmaceutical ingredients due to the microwave sterilization but alas I cannot find a free full text version.

 

[Venrak]

High powered UV light would do the trick, but even if you sterilize the drugs there could be toxins as a result of bacterial metabolism and it would be unfit for IM injection.

 

[pasha]

Trust me it matters heaps. I've cooked ketamine through all methods, and the one I've found best is putting a plate on top of a steep pot, pouring the liquid on the plate and letting it slowly crystallize. I wouldn't do it any other way.