The Synovex Solution
by Dazed
Cattle implants are an easy way for the average guy to get his hands on some of the good stuff. Trenbolone acetate is the most popular of this form of steroid as it easily separated from Finaplix or Component pellets. It is usually made into an injectable or topical doseage form. Synovex-H is a lesser known implant that contains 2 grams of testosterone propionate (TP) and, unfortunately, 200mg of estradiol benzoate (EB) per cartridge. Synovex is even more readily available than Fina, and can be found with a simple internet search. No proof of cattle ownership is usually needed, and 20g of testosterone propionate can be had for as little as $70.
There are several ways to remove the estradiol that are commonly known. One involves using diethyl ether and a freezer, and another involves removing the esters before separating. The former method does not completely remove the estradiol, and the latter is bad because the pharmokinetics of straight testosterone in oil are less than desirable (the free base is better for transdermal preparations, however, and will be covered later). Ideally, we could remove the esterified testosterone, without the estrogen.
Good news! I’m going to explain, step by step, how to separate pure testosterone propionate from the estradiol benzoate. The technique is basically a recrystallization of a supersaturated solution, which is commonly used in chemistry to purify substances. I will go through the method with the approximate amounts of chemicals needed to do one cart of Synovex-H. One cart refers to one green cartridge, which is a green cylinder full of pellets, and all together contains 2 grams of TP and 200mg of EB. The actual amounts of chemicals will vary every time you do the procedure, because variables such as temperature and atmospheric pressure are never the same all the time.
Recrystallization
Materials needed: Methanol (Heet) -- The amount needed will vary with the number of recrystallizations. Distilled water, 2 glass containers (Jars preferably), a 60ml syringe, syringe prefilter (.8 to 1.2 micron) and coffee filters.
Note: Be sure to get regular Heet in the yellow bottle. Read the label and use it if it contains ONLY methyl alcohol, and only methyl alcohol.
The Theory (a.k.a how the hell does this work?)
In this method, we take advantage of the fact that there is ten times more testosterone propionate than estradiol benzoate in the cartridge. Both TP and EB are freely soluble in methanol and almost completely insoluble in water. As detailed in Weissberger's "Technique of Organic Chemistry Volume III, Part I Separation and Purification." (1), by slowly adding distilled water to the methanol/steroid solution, we can create a supersaturated solution. This supersaturated solution will crystallize; giving highly pure crystals of the substance that was supersaturated in the solution. Since there is ten times more TP than EB, the solution becomes saturated with TP first, so it will crystallize first. The crystals that form will be pure, but all of the TP will not come out of solution when the first crystals form. Only enough TP will crystallize so that the remaining TP in solution will not be extremely supersaturated. For example, if 200mg TP crystallizes, 1800mg will still be in solution per cart. The one thing to be aware of is that after a certain amount of water is added, the EB will become supersaturated and crystallize as well. The only way to know for sure if there is estrogen in your crystals will be to do take a melting point of some of the crystals.
The Nitty Gritty
Dissolve the cart in 80mls of methanol. This will take about an hour. I put everything in a jar and shake it up. Also, crushing the pellets after about 15 minutes of soaking speeds up the process. Let the filler settle on the bottom of the jar. Use a 60ml syringe to draw up the liquid above the filler that has settled on the bottom. You can leave most of the filler at the bottom, as it is a mess to filter.
Put the syringe filter on and filter the solution into a new, clean, dry jar. The solution should be clear. Now we begin adding the distilled water. The water should be added slowly, and when opalescence is seen in the solution, the water should stop being added, because crystallization is occurring. The whole solution needs to be cloudy before crystallization will really occur, do not confuse this with the cloudiness that happens right where the water hits the methanol. Once the solution is cloudy, screw the cap on the jar and let it sit for at least a half hour. The amount of water that you need to add to get crystals is about 13-25 ml. Be sure to add the water slowly after 10 ml or so. Be patient, because the slower that the crystals form, the more pure they are.
Once the crystals have formed, you want to harvest them. Place a coffee filter in the mouth of another clean, dry jar, so that the crystals can be filtered. Swirl the solutions before you pour it to make sure you get all the crystals. Squeeze the excess liquid through the filter. Once the solution is completely through the filter, remove the filter, label it as the 1st crop, and set it aside. This process is then repeated. Water is added to the solution we just filtered until it is cloudy. Seal the jar and let it crystallize, and harvest the crystals. Be sure to label each crop of crystals -- the number of crops needed will vary.
Once all the crystals are harvested, and allowed to dry overnight, it is time to process them. A melting point will be needed for each crop of crystals. The melting point of TP is 120-122 C (248-251.6 F). If estrogen is present, the melting point of the crystals will be lower than this. Our goal is to get the melting point to 120 C (248 F). Most likely all of the first crops of crystals will have some estrogen in them. This is where the procedure gets a little complicated, but if you can do this, you will be successful. To get really pure crystals, just enough methanol is added to each crop of crystals so that all the crystals are dissolved. Water is added drop wise to these solutions until crystals form, just as we did previously. The crystals are harvested, and melting points are taken. It usually only takes a few simple recrystallizations to get a really pure product. The yield will vary each time you try this, but I recommend just doing one cart at a time, until you get the hang of it.
There are many ways to measure melting point, but an easy way to do it at home is to put some about oil in a pan on a stovetop burner. You will need an accurate thermometer, a test tube, and a few milligrams of your crystals. Be sure you can easily tell the difference between 115 C (239 F) and 120 C (248 F) degrees, this small difference is important! Turn on the burner and heat it to about 100 C (212 F). Make sure the temp is stable. Now put the crystals in the test tube and hold this in the oil, but do not let the test tube touch the bottom of the pan. Slowly increase the heat until the crystals melt, and note the temperature. When the crystals melt at 118 C - 120 C (244.4 F - 248 F), you have pure testosterone propionate.
Making an injectable
If you decide you would like to make the testosterone propionate into an injectable form, Here is how to do it at 100mg/ml. Put the crystals in an empty, clean, dry vial. Add 1 ml of benzyl alcohol (USP grade) per gram of TP. Add 8 ml of vegetable oil per gram of TP. Mix this up by swirling it around. Place it in an oven set at about 170 C (338 F) for five to ten minutes to really heat up the oil. This will make it easy to filter. Once it is hot, draw everything up into a 60ml syringe. Put a .45 or .22 micron filter on the syringe, and a sterile needle, and filter the oil into a sterile vial. Be sure to vent the vial with another needle by sticking one needle it the vial, but with nothing on the end, so that the pressure in the vial is equalized. Benzyl alcohol and syringe filters are fairly easy to find on the net. If you ask around one of the more popular discussion boards, someone will probably point you in the right direction. TP is a bit painful, but several people have used this method successfully.
Making a transdermal
If you want to prepare the crystals for transdermal use, you need to remove the ester group. The supplies you need are sodium hydroxide, distilled water, and methanol. Dissolve the testosterone crystals in a minimun amount of methanol. In a separate container, dissolve 1/8 teaspoon of sodium hydroxide in 8 oz of hot distilled water. Once dissolved, add the sodium hydroxide solution to the methanol/test solution. This will turn white instantly. Let this react for a few minutes. Next add an additional 8 oz of water, to make sure all the salt that was formed is dissolved. The white stuff you see is pure unesterfied testosterone, and it should be filtered out. You should run water over the testosterone while it is on the filter to make sure all of the salts and hydroxides are removed. Ideally you would test the pH of the test to make sure all of the hydroxides are rinsed off. Dry the powder and add it to your favorite topical mix.
Editors Note: It would mix particularly well with ONE, not only because of the superior transdermal formula, but because of the synergism of the 1-testosterone with the added estrogen from aromatization of the testosterone.
