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Clenbuterol powder: purity and purification of commercial product
Clenbuterol powder is a precursor to various Clenbuterol formulations used for various medicinal, athletic, and research purposes. Clenbuterol itself is known as 4-amino- α –
(t- butyl- amino methyl)- 3,5 dichloro benzyl alcohol (CAS 37148-27-9). Clenbuterol powder is the term used for 4-amino- α – (t- butyl- amino methyl)- 3,5 dichloro benzyl
alcohol hydrochloride which is the white, crystalline precursor of Clenbuterol.
Clenbuterol powder is very popular with laboratory scientists and body building athletes due to its easiness of forming desired concentrations of Clenbuterol in appropriate solution media. The resulting compound (Clenbuterol) is commonly
mistaken for a steroid, although typically it is not one; Clenbuterol is a beta sympathomimetic and a known efficient nervous system stimulant. The adregenic beta2
receptors are stimulated by very low concentrations of it, confirming its strong agonistic nature towards those receptors. Perhaps its most popular attribute and related use is as a bronchodilator, although this use has been minimized in developed economies due to
mainly two reasons. The first one is due to its known misuse for ‘illegal’ purposes, with the second one being its long self life that allows for local internal accumulation of
higher concentrations in the organism. Especially in the US, the use of Clenbuterol for this application has hit a minimum in the last years.
Clenbuterol powder is mostly derived synthetically via small to medium scale laboratory approaches mainly in China and other Asia Pacific economies. After all, most research chemicals like Clenbuterol powder are mostly prepared in China and some east
European countries like Bulgaria and former USSR parts. Purity of Clenbuterol powder
is one of the most important attributes that the buyer should pay attention to. ‘Purity’ in the case of Clenbuterol powder depends on precursors, synthetic approach, extraction approach, grain size distribution and additives used. Purification and extraction of
Clenbuterol powder from mixtures is of the highest importance for purification,
manufacturing and recycling of it. Classical approaches include liquid- liquid extraction and solid phase extraction. Both of these approaches offered acceptable results in the
past but modern methods succeed in addressing issues such as use of toxic solvents and
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long extraction times. Such novel approaches minimize the chances of toxic impurities in
the Clenbuterol powder produced and thus increase its purity, value and range of applications. The single most interesting technique seems to be based on the use of molecularly imprinted polymers based on cyclodextrin. However, other approaches exist that promise extreme efficiency and selectivity. One such approach is the
purification via Ionic Liquid extraction/ separation. Ionic Liquids (also known as molten
salts) are ‘salts’ that are viscous liquids at low temperatures (typically below 60- 70 °C but most commonly even at room temperature – Room temperature Ionic Liquids).
These novel compounds offer an unprecedented ability for purification of valuable chemicals since its vast number (more than 22,000,000 of them have been identified up
to date) allows for a key- lock relation to any chemical. Ionic Liquids have been used for the absorption/ separation/ purification of very valuable compounds including Cannabinoids, Research Chemicals, precious metals and others. Most Ionic Liquids are also nontoxic thus increasing the potential of produced Clenbuterol powder.
Optimum purity of Clenbuterol powder depends on the intended application. Laboratory
grade Clenbuterol powder can be purified via traditional solvents keeping in mind that very high purity is required. However, medicinal or body building applications require
complete minimization of toxic solvents and thus the novel purification techniques are a
perquisite. In order to evaluate potential deleterious effects of solvent remains in Clenbuterol powder one has to identify the solvent(s) used during extraction / purification and calculate the amount taken by the organism during daily doses (in the
case of body builders). In many cases, due to the low amount of Clenbuterol taken (in
the order of 20-140 μg) and high purity of commercial Clenbuterol powder, these effects
only become important during long usage of the product. On the other hand, the process
of diluting Clenbuterol powder to Clenbuterol may also include a solvent requiring step (rarely) that can affect the quality of the final deliverable.
It has been discussed how purity and quality of Clenbuterol powder affects the quality of the used product by medicinal, laboratory and athletic applications. Novel purification
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methodologies are expected to depend on large scale imprinted polymers, microporous
separation and Ionic Liquids based purification, offering safe solutions for the various segments of Clenbuterol powder applications. Other research activities recently
published in the scientific literature also suggest that Clenbuterol manufacturing and purification will attract more interest in the years to come.