Harm Reduction Micron Filtering Mega Thread and FAQ

[Area57]

Alternatives to these filters? I remember in exchange that had a filter you put on the tip for pills. They were flat at the bottom and you sucked the pill water up through the filter into the syringe and you were good to go. I got some dilaudid and want to be safe. It would be easier for me to prepare each injection at the time of use and use single use disposable filters that just attach to the 27g needles I have. Is this possible?

 

[alwayswrming]

The filters referenced in this guide are disposable filters that attach to the syringe. They are research- and clinical-grade .2 micron filters that are fine enough to catch bacteria. This may be overkill for single shot prep. plenty of IV users have been using tap water non-filtered for shots of H for many years without ever getting a bacterial infection. Catching the bacteria is a lot more important when preparing a stock solution because they can then grow and multiple while the stock sits on the shelf. So.. if I were you, I would search the interwebs for filters that have a larger pore size (maybe something like .4 or higher) that are still able to catch insoluble particulates. Also, you may look for filters that are made of something other than PVDF ... something other than PVDF may be cheaper, i'm not sure.

 

[udontunderstand]

Forgive me if this answer is in the posts, I honestly tried to scan them, but 28 pages is a lot. So I am prepping 16mg Exalgo to IV (I know it is not smart, or possibly even dumb, but this is where I am right now). I follow all the steps I have found here on Bluelight in another thread, however my final solution is a little thick and does not pull up into the syringe but barely at all. (I am using 31 gauge insulin needles.I think 1 cc??) The small amount that does get pulled into syringe can be injected after registering no problem. So my question is, how can I thin the liquid to make it possible to be pulled into syringe or do I need a different type of needle? Thanks...I do try to follow all the harm reduction on Bluelight. I don't post much, but I have been reading all of your posts for years, I feel like I know some of you!

 

[cibrthugs]

Are the Whatman filters nonpyrogenic? If not, what can be done to fix that?

 

[SS373dOH]

Forgive me if this answer is in the posts, I honestly tried to scan them, but 28 pages is a lot. So I am prepping 16mg Exalgo to IV (I know it is not smart, or possibly even dumb, but this is where I am right now). I follow all the steps I have found here on Bluelight in another thread, however my final solution is a little thick and does not pull up into the syringe but barely at all. (I am using 31 gauge insulin needles.I think 1 cc??) The small amount that does get pulled into syringe can be injected after registering no problem. So my question is, how can I thin the liquid to make it possible to be pulled into syringe or do I need a different type of needle? Thanks...I do try to follow all the harm reduction on Bluelight. I don't post much, but I have been reading all of your posts for years, I feel like I know some of you!

More water, less Exalgo, larger gauge needle..

 

[SS373dOH]

Are the Whatman filters nonpyrogenic? If not, what can be done to fix that?

Sorry bud, I do not know the answer to this one, hopefully someone else comes along that does!

 

[ILikeToEatPeople]

Never used Micron Filter before and have some questions. Say we have 3 Whatman 25MM PVDF 0.2um Sterile Syringe Filters and all other required materials (Syringes, sterile water, needles, presealed vials etc) and we want to prep as much as possible at a time considering we only have 3 filters I'm unsure how to best proceed. If we have 45 Generic 4mg Dilaudid and 45 Generic 60mg MS Contin (Morphine Sulfate extended release), how much sterile water would we use to dissolve and filter the pills of each type? It would be ideal to filter the entire 45 pills of each the Dilaudid and MS Contin all at once but will filtering 45 pills at a time clog a Whatman filter? Is that too much or can the filters handle that much or more? Basically, how do we figure out how much sterile water to use? We have 60 CC syringes to use for attaching the micron filters. If we would like to take shots of about 8mg - 12mg of Dilaudid at a time and probably 30mg of Morphine at a time what is the math involved? How much water, solute etc? Basically, if we want to prepare the 45 Dilaudids and 45 MS Contins what do we do? We understand the basic procedure laid out in the beginning of the thread, just unsure of how much water to use and how much drug would be in say 1CC. As in if we filter and make the solution and have 1CC syringes, how much drug would end up being in a full 1CC draw of the syringe?

Also, it is not best to inject bacteriostatic/sterile water without a solute correct? So, what do we use as a solute? How is this done? If we filter with the sterile water, does that mean that when preparing a shot for injection we at that time mix in some distilled water or saline solution or what? So basically leave the sterile water filtered solution with the drug in it alone and then every time we prepare a shot we use a solute in the syringe being used for injection?

Would a single Whatman filter be able to handle filtering 90 4mg Dilaudids? What about 90 MS Contin? How much can they handle? Hoping it'll be at least 45 pills of each per filter but don't want to try if it's just going to clog. Not really sure if that's entirely too much for a single filter or not.

I guess really, we would just want to know how much sterile water to use for filtering if we ultimately want to take 8-12mg shots of Dilaudid and 30mg shots of Morphine considering we are starting with 45 pills of each.

 

[jamesBrown]

What if someone is attempting to inject the Lannett brand 8 mg hydromorphone pills, but they have a VERY high tolerance so they have to IV about 3+ of them at a time to get any pain relief.
This person does not have a micron filter but knows all about it and how you should only IV pills with a micron filter.

The problem is that the amount of powder 3 + pills produces when crushed is massive. And since there is no micron filter and this person is utilizing the typical Q-tip cotton filter technique, there is a big problem with the giant pile of white goop in the spoon that is left over if you don't apply any heat( which is correct- it's not safe to apply heat/cook a solution with a pharmaceutical pill in it. ).

Then this person splits the big pile of 3+ pill powder into 2 piles usually and cooks each pile separately, using the hydromorphone infused water from the first half of the pile to mix with and then cook with the second half so that all 3+ pills are in the one syringe( always using 100 units of h2O by the way. ). Yes, it was just discussed how you should never heat your pills, but if this person doesn't heat the solution( quite a bit actually ) there ends up being too much mucky wet powder left over for the solution to be able to be drawn up into the syringe.
So....this person is aware that they are injecting a lot of inactive ingredients and is hoping someone has an idea on how they can more safely IV these pills.

*This person has already tried just putting small amounts of powder in the spoon at a time but by the time you get about halfway through the powder the solution gets all cloudy and there is nothing that can fix that.
*This person also has tried making the solution little by little as described in the last paragraph and then pulling up the solution with a syringe with no needle and then squirting the solution into the back of a syringe with cottons pre-prepared shoved into the syringe and then forcing the solution thru the cotton and still it stays very cloudy and most the time it clogs up and gets stuck in the syringe.
Even though when this person cooks up these 3+ pill hydromorphone shots so that they can actually be pulled up into a syringe and they look clear like water even though there is a lot of pill matter in there, please leave a message if you have any experience in this matter.

*Let's just say that this person doesn't have access to a micron filter( yes they are aware they can get them online and maybe even from some BL members ).*

Jb

 

[Taylor17]

Hello:

Wonderful forum, thank you in advance for any help related to my question(s):

I have purchased all of the right supplies (wheel filter, bacteriostatic water, empty 30mL sterile vial, luer lock syringes, insulin syringes, etc.

I want to make a 28 day of supply of a hydromorphone solution. Usually, when I make a single dose, I add 0.8 mL of sterile water into my crushed 2mg tablet and I usually get 0.65-0.70 mL of clear solution after filtering. Like I previously stated, I would like to make a batch into a vial for let's say 28 days. How many 2mg pills and how much bacteriostatic water would I need to make a vial that would allow me to draw back 0.60 mL and get my normal dosing? I'm tired of just doing pill by pill each time I need to dose up. I use OxyContin 20mg BID and then I get eight 2mg dilaudid tablets each day for breakthrough pain.

Thank you again for the help regarding this ratio. Take care,

-Taylor 17

Edit: my luer lock syringe that goes into my wheel filter is 5cc. My insulin syringe is 1cc 29 gauge 1/2 inch.

 

[DroneLore]

So I want to buy some micron filters from Amazon, but the product description says: INTENDED FOR INDUSTRIAL USE ONLY. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED OR APPROVED FOR MEDICAL USE.

They are 0.2 um.

Can they still be used for filtering solutions that will be injected intramuscularly?

What about the SEOH 0.45um micron filters. Are those okay?

The actual Whatman filters are prohibitively expensive.... I don't really need to spend that much money do I?

 

[P Schwangles]

So I want to buy some micron filters from Amazon, but the product description says: INTENDED FOR INDUSTRIAL USE ONLY. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED OR APPROVED FOR MEDICAL USE.

They are 0.2 um.

Can they still be used for filtering solutions that will be injected intramuscularly?

What about the SEOH 0.45um micron filters. Are those okay?

The actual Whatman filters are prohibitively expensive.... I don't really need to spend that much money do I?

I have some answers to your questions, but they actually lead to some questions of my own that I came here to ask the community.

I'm not sure what makes them considered only for industrial use, but I always think it's a good measure to run at least a few mL of water through your filter before running your solution through, just to rinse out any potential residues. As far as spending the money on Whatmans, their filter membranes are quite reliable, but there are definitely other companies that have legitimate membranes that get the job done. Another thing that I think makes the Whatman filters superior is the prefilters inside, which definitely keep them from getting clogged as fast as single-membrane filters. I also must warn that I have come across at least one cheap brand that barely seemed to filter at all (the solution and air just passed straight though without any resistance), and one other no-name brand that didn't even allow water to pass through!

{{{ tangent: I've started trying to mess with the little 13mm filters because their chamber is so small, it is easier to get all the liquid out. But man, they can get clogged so freaking fast, even when I've done a cotton filtration first (I stick a little piece of cotton in the end of a 1mL slip-tip oral syringe, suck up my solution through that, then pull out the cotton and connect the oral syringe containing my solution straight to the syringe filter and give it a few firm shakes to force the solution down into the filter before I start pushing the plunger. Once my solution is done dripping through, I pull out the 1mL oral syringe and screw on a bigger 10mL luer-lock oral syringe to give it the extra pressure to push the rest of the solution through). I'm starting to try to find the little 13mm ones with prefilters, if they exist.}}}

As far as the filter material is concerned, different filter materials are resistant to various types of solvents, acids, and bases. For water-based injectable solutions, I think most filter materials will do ok without being damaged by your solution's contents. Theoretically, one possible concern would be if you are using heroin that contains some excess acetic anhydride, you'd want the filter material to be resistant to that. I have a chart that shows a bunch of the different filter materials and their resistance to various chemicals (unfortunately, acetic anhydride isn't one of the chemicals on the chart). https://tools.thermofisher.com/content/sfs/brochures/Filterware-Chemical-Resistance-Guide.pdf

As for the filter pore size, I've read that 0.2um is ideal, not only because it will remove even more particulate from your solution (which is important), but also because it is small enough to even filter out bacteria!

This point about filtering bacteria leads me to my questions for the community: How important is it to purchase filters that are already sterilized, when it seems easy enough to do it yourself? If the pore size is small enough to filter out bacteria, couldn't you just rinse the thing out before use (and reuse) to remove any potential bacteria, and then rest assured that no more bacteria is going to be coming out the end of your filter? I've done this myself and not had any problems (I also rinse my cottons now too before using them to try to remove that toxin that can cause cotton fever and can probably go right through a syringe filter). Yet, I keep purchasing sterile filters to start with because that's what everyone says to do, and I haven't gotten around to having this discussion with anyone more knowledgable than myself yet. Wouldn't it be fairly easy to sterilize these yourself?

I hope some of you knowledgable folks out there can chime in about this, or direct me to a page where this has already been discussed and a verdict reached.

 

[crOOk]

I use those myself, never ran into problems. Those companies just don't want to be sued. Maybe lay them into benzyl alcohol solution for a week or two if you are worried. This is obviously not harm reduction, but the risk is neglible. Sure maybe there are a few spores or bacteria in there (which you could destroy with the BA), but the amount of pathogenic organisms entering your tissue plays a large role in whether or not you are going to suffer an infection. They replicate exponentially. If your immune cells can not keep up you are fucked. If there are only a very few bacteria in there it is unlikely they will cause problems. You've got plenty of them on your skin and swabbing with alcohol does NOT nearly kill of them.

I think using sterile gloves would do a lot more for sterility than using sterilized filters if you know what I'm saying.

 

[Chemist4Hire]

love this article and write up but I'm unable to see any picture? I have the BL settings all checked so is it that your photobucket changed?

 

[dustb0i]

Can I use a 0.2 PES micron filter for ketamine solution? Or do I need PTFE, nylon, PVFD or PP?

 

[Jabberwocky]

Can I use a 0.2 PES micron filter for ketamine solution? Or do I need PTFE, nylon, PVFD or PP?

Without meaning to be a prick about it... http://www.bluelight.org/vb/archive/index.php/t-828447.html google is your friend

 

[dustb0i]

Thanks haha. I actually read the thread. I think i've read all of them by now. The best answer I could find was what OP posted here on the first page. OP writes that I will need a 0.2?m PVDF micron filter. But as long as it's sterile and 0.2?m it should work wether it's PES or PVDF in my understanding?

One user on reddit claimed it shouldn't matter which one used but he was not sure.

 

[kilaka]

Hi folks,

I am looking for some harm reduction information for some friends. What is the safest way to inject 8 mg dilaudid's? Say you were injecting 3-4 tablets at a time? I am hoping to keep veins as protected as possible and to avoid infections/debris etc. I am sorry - I looked at original post and it seems it is for a large quantity? This would be daily dispense quantities only.

thanks for your help!

 

[BCski]

Hi all

My question is about micron filtering but also have couple other questions.

First, I was planning on making a batch of hydromorphone but only have the little 2mg pills. Obviously there would be a lot of filler material and thought it would be best to first pre filter using cotton. I have the little dental pellets but they are non-sterile cotton. (I've been using the pellets with no issues yet but want to reduce harm as much as possible). Does It matter much or should they be sterile cotton? Also, since there will likely be lots of filler, would it be better to have a cotton dental roll vs dental pellet? If you spray some isopropyl alcohol on the cotton and let it evaporate, can that potentially sterilize it better?

I was thinking if putting the liquid through a 0.45 micron filter first, and then through a 0.22 micron filter. The diameter of each membrane is 25mm. Are these too wide and may compromise the amount of material I recover? The reason why I thought the larger diameters may be better was that it may be able to take on more particulates compared to a 13mm membrane. Also, is a 45 micron filter even necessary? I thought that maybe the 45 micron would take on the brunt of the particles, thus leaving less for the 22 microns to take. (I had been using the 13mm diameter filters but that was only for small doses.

I hope this doesn't sound too confusing and I appreciate any advice I can get from anyone.

Thanks

 

[JTemperance]

Hi all

My question is about micron filtering but also have couple other questions.

First, I was planning on making a batch of hydromorphone but only have the little 2mg pills. Obviously there would be a lot of filler material and thought it would be best to first pre filter using cotton. I have the little dental pellets but they are non-sterile cotton. (I've been using the pellets with no issues yet but want to reduce harm as much as possible). Does It matter much or should they be sterile cotton? Also, since there will likely be lots of filler, would it be better to have a cotton dental roll vs dental pellet? If you spray some isopropyl alcohol on the cotton and let it evaporate, can that potentially sterilize it better?

I was thinking if putting the liquid through a 0.45 micron filter first, and then through a 0.22 micron filter. The diameter of each membrane is 25mm. Are these too wide and may compromise the amount of material I recover? The reason why I thought the larger diameters may be better was that it may be able to take on more particulates compared to a 13mm membrane. Also, is a 45 micron filter even necessary? I thought that maybe the 45 micron would take on the brunt of the particles, thus leaving less for the 22 microns to take. (I had been using the 13mm diameter filters but that was only for small doses.

I hope this doesn't sound too confusing and I appreciate any advice I can get from anyone.

Thanks

Sorry I never replied to your question in the other thread. I meant to, but I lost track.

How much do your hydromorphone pills weigh? From my experience with 110mg pressed fentanyl pills (M30s/blues), the binders will completely clog up a 0.45um filter if you don't pre-filter in some way. You can use multiple 0.45um filters if you like, just try to guage the pressure you're feeling on the filter membrane and stop before it's too late.

Unfortunately, you kind of have to learn the "touch" for this point by trial and error, but essentially, you shouldn't have to squeeze down on the plunger all that hard. It's better to use an extra 50¢ filter than lose a $?? shot, right? Regardless, prep everything over a plate or other solid surface in case the filter explodes.

One way to pre-filter without losing much is to use a thin-gauge insuling needle (like a 30g) to strain off the solution from the top, after you've stirred the powder in water and let it fall to the bottom. It will clog before letting in any massive chunks of binder, keeping them out of your micron filters.

But a RYO cigarette filter works better; soaking and re-soaking the filter can recoup most of the losses in strength IME. If I understand right, the cotton dental roll should be a lot better than the pellets, more like the cig filter (denser/firmer). I'd cut about 1/8" off the roll and use that as a starting point if you decide to pre-filter this way.

IMHO, the 0.45um filters are essential for anyone filtering solutions that are relatively particulate-heavy. It is quite a bit slower to clog up than a 0.22um filter, so there's much less pressure in general and it's less likely to burst. They are quite good on their own, too, and even filter out a fair amount of bacteria.

With black tar heroin, I don't pre-filter at all. I cook up ~0.5g and draw the solution into a 25g 5/8" tuberculin syringe, then I front-load into a 3ml Luer lock barrel. I screw on the 0.45um filter (needle attached) and push the solution through into the front of another barrel. Then I screw the 0.22um filter on that and push it through into the barrels we're going to shoot with.

Even with the tar (let alone pills), a 0.22um would clog up much faster and make the whole procedure more nerve-racking. The 0.45um is quite different and I can even reuse one of them 10+ times (5-6 grams) before swapping it out. (The filters are not ruined after one use or even several, as long as you're going in one direction and not letting them sit forever between uses.)

I've never tried drawing the solution *up* through the filter except once, experimentally, and it didn't seem very good. I'd recommend just pushing it through, FWIW. You can use an insulin syringe to draw up the solution and spray it into the 3ml barrels if you like (as I do), or you can stick the needleless tip of the 3ml barrel into the solution and draw it up direct.

Hope this answers most of your questions, let me know if some are still unanswered. Good luck! It's definitely 100% worth the effort.

EDIT: And no, 25mm is what you definitely want for pills. That is basically the standard-issue size, though the 13mm worked for 0.1g BTH shots and would be ideal for ECP single servings.

You can flush the filters with water to make sure there's no solution stuck in there. Personally, I always flush the 0.45um with 1/4-1/3 the amount of H20 that I used to cook the shot. This is also good because it cools down the solution (though you won't use heat for pills) and gets particulates to fall out again AFAICT.

With the 22um filter, I don't usually flush with water, I pull the plunger out of the back of the barrel and push it down to basically flush it with air pressure, which clears out quite a bit of trapped solution IME.

 

[polyboss]

Are the Whatman filters nonpyrogenic? If not, what can be done to fix that?

Other pvdf filters that work (Biomed Scientific off Amazon for example) are non-pyrogenic