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Turning plastic gloves into hot sauce

NileRed・2 minutes read

A project turning plastic gloves into hot sauce used extracted DINP from vinyl gloves to create isononanoic acid, eventually leading to nordihydrocapsaicin. The final hot sauce produced was flavorful but very spicy after blending roasted red peppers, onions, garlic, salt, and nordihydrocapsaicin dissolved in ethanol on a chicken wing.

Insights

DINP extracted from vinyl gloves is chemically similar to the spiciness in chili peppers, serving as a foundation for creating hot sauce.
The meticulous process involves converting isononanol to isononanoic acid, then vanillin to vanillin oxime and finally vanillylamine hydrochloride, culminating in the synthesis of nordihydrocapsaicin for the spicy hot sauce.

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Recent questions

What is DINP and its potential use?
DINP is a chemical extracted from vinyl gloves, similar to the spiciness in chili peppers, used as a base for creating hot sauce.
How is isononanoic acid obtained for hot sauce production?
Isononanoic acid is derived from isononanol through a series of chemical reactions involving Jones reagent and careful temperature control.
What is the significance of vanillin in the hot sauce creation process?
Vanillin is crucial for producing vanillin oxime, a compound used in subsequent reactions to eventually create nordihydrocapsaicin for the hot sauce.
How is nordihydrocapsaicin synthesized for hot sauce production?
Nordihydrocapsaicin is synthesized by combining vanillylamine hydrochloride with isononanoic acid, resulting in the creation of the spicy molecule essential for the hot sauce.
What is the final outcome of the hot sauce creation project?
The final outcome of the hot sauce creation project involved blending roasted red peppers, onions, garlic, salt, and nordihydrocapsaicin to produce a flavorful yet very spicy synthetic hot sauce.

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Summary

00:00

From Plastic Gloves to Hot Sauce

The project involves turning plastic gloves into hot sauce, focusing on extracting a chemical called DINP from vinyl gloves.
DINP is similar in structure to the chemical that gives chili peppers their spiciness, making it a potential starting point for creating hot sauce.
The process begins with extracting DINP from vinyl gloves using rubbing alcohol and sodium hydroxide drain cleaner.
The extracted DINP is then reacted with sodium hydroxide to produce isononanol tails and sodium phthalate.
The isononanol is distilled to isolate it, followed by a purification process to obtain clean isononanol.
The isononanol is then converted into isononanoic acid using Jones reagent, a complex chemical reaction.
The conversion process involves carefully adding the Jones reagent to the isononanol solution while maintaining a low temperature.
After the reaction is complete, excess Jones reagent is neutralized using isopropyl rubbing alcohol.
The solution is then filtered to remove waste products, leaving behind a clear solution of isononanoic acid.
The final product, isononanoic acid, serves as the base for building the spicy molecule Nordihydrocapsaicin, essential for creating the hot sauce.

15:09

Purification and Extraction of Chemical Compounds

Acetone was mostly removed by heating on a hot plate for about six hours with a stir bar and a fan blowing on it.
The remaining solution was poured into a separatory funnel and diluted with distilled water before adding Dichloromethane (DCM).
DCM formed a separate layer at the bottom, which was extracted and shaken to mix thoroughly.
After multiple extractions with DCM, the solution was cloudy due to water content, necessitating drying with saturated salt water.
Hexanes were added to remove impurities, followed by a final extraction with dilute acid to confirm the presence of isononanoic acid.
The isononanoic acid was dissolved in hexanes, separated, dried with sodium sulfate, and distilled to remove hexanes.
The yield was 3.5 grams of nearly pure isononanoic acid after distillation.
The next step involved obtaining vanillin from vanilla sugar through methanol extraction and filtration.
The vanillin was purified by evaporating methanol, resulting in nearly pure vanillin.
Vanillin was then converted to Vanillin oxime by mixing it with Hydroxylamine hydrochloride and sodium acetate trihydrate in water.

30:39

Synthesis of Vanillylamine Hydrochloride from Vanillin

Covered beaker with a small watch glass and heated it on a hot plate for 10 minutes.
Vanillin disappeared when it got hot enough and started boiling.
Vanillin should react with hydroxylamine hydrochloride to form vanillin oxime.
Left the reaction for 15 minutes, but no change was visible.
Crystals of vanillin oxime slowly grew after cooling, separating out due to low solubility in water.
Crystals were refrigerated overnight for full crystallization.
Vanillin oxime was filtered and washed with cold water to obtain wet crystals.
Crystals were dried in a desiccator to remove moisture.
Tested the purity of vanillin oxime by checking its melting temperature.
Attempted to convert vanillin oxime to vanillylamine using a hydrogenation method with palladium on carbon catalyst and hydrogen gas.
Monitored the progress of the reaction by observing the shrinking hydrogen balloon.
Filtered the reaction mixture under argon to avoid ignition risks.
Distilled the mixture to remove ethanol and hydrochloric acid, resulting in a color change to yellow.
Filtered the distillate and boiled it to obtain white powder, possibly vanillylamine hydrochloride.
Tested the powder's properties, including melting point and solubility in water.
Ran an NMR test to confirm the identity of the compound as vanillylamine hydrochloride.
Proceeded to the next reaction step of combining vanillylamine hydrochloride with isononanoic acid to make nordihydrocapsaicin.

44:59

"Unconventional Hydrogenation Method Yields Pure Compound"

The paper provided a method for hydrogenation that was unfamiliar but successful in biochemistry.
To ensure a backup plan, only half the required materials were used in case of failure.
The process began by adding 15 mils of DMF solvent and 0.76 grams of isononanoic acid to a flask.
Stirring was initiated, and DIPEA, a base, was added to react with the acid.
HATU was then introduced to react with the deprotonated acid, forming a new molecule.
The reaction was left to proceed for about 30 minutes, gradually darkening.
Vanillylamine hydrochloride was added to react with DIPIA, aiming to create nordihydrocapsaicin.
The mixture was left overnight under argon protection.
The compound was extracted using hexanes, followed by multiple washes with various solutions.
The final product was purified using potassium hydroxide and CO₂ gas, resulting in nearly pure nordihydrocapsaicin.

59:48

"Spicy Challenge Leads to Homemade Hot Sauce"

The individual tried a spicy challenge, leading to spicy hiccups, confirming the spiciness.
After two years, they attempted to make hot sauce using roasted red peppers, onions, garlic, and salt.
The synthetic hot sauce was created by blending the ingredients and adding nordihydrocapsaicin dissolved in ethanol.
The final hot sauce was tasted on a chicken wing, rated as flavorful but very spicy, concluding the project that took four months to complete.

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