Hello pherotruthers! This is a long and boring post, so only read it if you need it.

Thought I would write a comprehensive guide for those who want to dissolve their molecules or make their own mixes. We’re going to broach the dilution of one single molecule first. We need three basic materials:

• Carrier
• Fixative (usually 10%)
• Concentrate
  

Those are the basic components in any pheromone blend. Of course, essential oils or scents can be added as well.
You can mix everything using a 1ml syringe for the concentrate and two 5ml syringes: one for the fixative, one for the alcohol. It is very useful if you have a micropipette, especially if you’re going to be working with dosages on the nanogram (nG) scale. When working with micropipette, you must use one tip to each component. So…



To avoid cross contamination, the ideal is to use one syringe per component, be it DPG, alcohol, molecule, essence, or other. You can buy packs of ten 1ml syringes in drug stores, and label them with the component names they were used for, so you can reuse them. They’re generally used by people with diabetes to apply insulin. To work with the DPG, use a 5 ml syringe, once the liquid is thicker and needs a larger needle to be sucked in.


Note:
If you think one of the syringes or other pieces of equipment were contaminated or are dirty in any way, boil water and dive the equipment into it for a few minutes. You can also use a pressure cooker to make it closer to the real autoclaving process.


If you want to use volumetric flasks, beakers and graduated cylinders, it’s great. Just remember you can mix all the components in the bottle they will go in.

It’s also a good idea to use gloves and a mask.


Has no money for a micropipette, must be a Weasley.


Okay, so first we need to decide how much mass of a molecule (M) we want to dispense per application. That’s the dosage in micrograms per spray, or dabs, or whatever. The amount of concentrate that must be used for the desired dosage to be dispensed can be determined through the following equation:





Or put more readable:





Vc – Volume of concentrate in microlitres.

M – Mass of molecules (the desired dosage per spray) in micrograms.

Va – Volume of application (drop, spray, dab or inch) in microliters. As a rule of thumb, one dab is 20 μl, one drop is 50 μl and one spray is 130 μl.

Vb – Volume of total bottle content (volume of the carrier [alcohol, oil, silicone] plus fixative [DPG, silicone] plus the concentrates) in microlitres.

K – Concentration of concentrate, in milligrams per millilitre.


So we’ll dilute some alpha-androsterone, into a spray bottle type. The total amount of liquid inside the bottle is 15 ml, so Vb=15000. We want a dosage (M) of 1,25 mcg/spray. My concentrate is diluted in alcohol, at 2mg/ml concentration (K).

A spray can vary from 80 to 140 μl, or 0.08 to 0.14 ml. For this example, assume 1 spray (Va) = 140 μl.





Using combinatorial proof:





Okay. So we’re going to need 67 μl of concentrate to dispense the intended dosage. We are aiming for 15ml of total content. 10% or 1,5ml of it is fixative. 0.67 of it is the actual concentrate. So we take 15ml minus 1,5ml minus 0.67ml and we have 12.83, the volume of alcohol we need to complete the process.





Vr – Volume of carrier.
Vb – Volume of total bottle content.
Vf – Total volume of fixative, in millilitre.
Vc – Volume of concentrate.


In case you are mixing a blend, calculate how much concentrate you’re going to need for each molecule and sum them up to use as Vc before using the above equation.

The rest is quite simple now. Just add everything together and shake the bottle. Label it with component name and dosage per spray, or dab, or inch, whatever you‘ve chosen your dosage method to be. To minimise evaporation of components, it is best to add into the bottle the fixative first, then the carrier, then the concentrate. Let it rest for a day in a cool, dark place.

Sucking the DPG should be quite hard at first, because it is really thick. But you’ll soon get used to it. (Wait, that could’ve come out wrong…)



EDIT: Corrected misspelled measures and formulas.

I corrected misspelled measures and formulas in the post above. I'm just bumping it up in case anyone have read this and got confused.

Tks

I don't have DPG, what are fixers can I use? What is the purpose of a fixer? What kind of alcohol (EtOH or IsoPropOH)? Is there any water?

A fixative controls the rate at which the molecules will fly off your body. Without a fixative, you may as well kiss your money goodbye. Also, EtOH is the preferable alcohol to use even though you can use something weaker.

(06-13-2012 12:25 PM)zerosix85 Wrote:  A fixative controls the rate at which the molecules will fly off your body. Without a fixative, you may as well kiss your money goodbye.

Indeed! What I've read about using molecules without fixative is that they'll last half an hour at the most. I believe you would have a "bullet" diffusion pattern. Alas, my experience in this particular matter is limited.

(06-13-2012 12:25 PM)zerosix85 Wrote:  Also, EtOH is the preferable alcohol to use even though you can use something weaker.

Didn't know that. Why so?

(06-13-2012 9:23 AM)alexhaj Wrote:  I don't have DPG, what are fixers can I use?

I believe our member dbot uses fractionated coconut oil (FCO) with great success!

I'm not aware of any water based solutions. Your other questions were answered above by zerosix.

(06-13-2012 11:02 PM)Fly So Hi Wrote:  Didn't know that. Why so?

Forgive me for posting in haste. Perfumer's alcohol is the to-go alcohol that you would want to go to. Ethanol and lower grade alcohol is acceptable also.

I know Alcohol is nice in getting the molecules to evaporate quicker for a punchy effect but I still prefer oil-oriented over alcohol based products. Especially since I'm still constantly experimenting with different mixes and I don't think human beings were meant to constantly spray huge quantities of alcohol on their skins over long periods of time.

Also if you're wondering where to get some fixatives and carriers and scents at wholesale prices. I use Save on Scents. They are based on the East Coast of the US and you can order a gallon of PA from them with no problem.

Thanks for the tips!

I really thought PA an EtOH were basically the same thing.

Another great dbot contribution is monolaurin in the form of Lauridicin pellets - http://www.amazon.com/Lauricidin%C2%AE-P...B004I8SMOQ

I've added the pellets to everclear 90% ethanol and made a base carrier/diluent that I can add measured amounts of single-molecules and scents to, works great for experimenting.

Here is dbot's experiences with monolaurin as a fixative : http://hackingthehive.com/main/2011/time...ragrances/

Enjoy! I'm really interested in the gel polymer matrix that Garry at Liquid Alchemy Labs has worked up in his new Overdose product : http://pherotruth.org/Thread-OVERDOSE-Ph...ck-is-this

And Chris' work at Alpha-Dream with cyclomethicones is unparalleled but they absorb water from the atmosphere and won't mix with less than lab-grade 100% ethanol which I can't obtain, so mixing with them is kind of out of my league for now until I get access to the pure ethanol. When I do however I will mix the stuff in air-sealed containers like the ones used at doctor's offices for dispensing meds with syringes...