# Laboratory Dopers, can you recommend a vendor for custom chemical synthesis? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 9, 2006, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laboratory-dopers-can-you-recommend-a-vendor-for-custom-chemical-synthesis/359983 "2006-06-09T00:09:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laboratory-dopers-can-you-recommend-a-vendor-for-custom-chemical-synthesis/359983/1 "2006-06-09T00:09:22Z")
This is in IMHO because I am looking for people’s opinions and past experience with this, not simply factual information about where I can find such a service. I need to have 25-30 grams of a certain organic chemical made. The purity needs to be pretty good and it needs to be cGMP compliant. I can find a lot of places out there that advertise such services but I was hoping to get someone’s personal experience, either good or bad, of any particular vendors. The one place that has been ruled out is Sigma/Fluka. They are our former vendor and have already informed us that they won’t go back to the old manufacturing process we liked (the stuff they made the old way was good, the stuff they make using their new process is crap, not pure enough for us). I know this is a long shot. Can anyone help? ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laboratory-dopers-can-you-recommend-a-vendor-for-custom-chemical-synthesis/359983/2 "2006-06-09T08:32:03Z")
What do you need to have made? ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laboratory-dopers-can-you-recommend-a-vendor-for-custom-chemical-synthesis/359983/3 "2006-06-09T10:58:08Z")
> [@Scribble](#): > > What do you need to have made? Due to company confidentiality yadda yadda yadda I would kinda prefer not to divulge the exact identity of the compound in question. It is an artificial fluorescent enzyme substrate, like the ones in the table at the top of this page: [http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/Brands/Fluka\_\_\_Riedel\_Home/Analytical/Fluorescent\_Probes/Enzyme\_Substrates.html](http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/Brands/Fluka___Riedel_Home/Analytical/Fluorescent_Probes/Enzyme_Substrates.html) As far as I have been able to determine while a handful of vendors sell it off the shelf few places make it routinely. Most of the vendors apparently buy it from the same source and the lots that are out there right now are not pure enough for our needs (I know, I’ve tried them). ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laboratory-dopers-can-you-recommend-a-vendor-for-custom-chemical-synthesis/359983/4 "2006-06-10T22:04:38Z")
OK, this is my one and only bump of this thread, hoping some of the weekend crew can help out. Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laboratory-dopers-can-you-recommend-a-vendor-for-custom-chemical-synthesis/359983/5 "2006-06-10T22:18:34Z")
I asked Mrs. Giraffe, a materials engineer in the semiconductor industry. Although she doesn’t have a lot of experience with the specific situation you’re in, she did think the following companies might be able to help you: [Strem chemicals](http://www.strem.com/code/index.ghc): they’re good for small custom batches, although she’s not sure about their organics or if they do ultra high purity stuff. [Gelest](http://www.gelest.com/): she’s heard they’re good for organics [Shumacher](http://www.airproducts.com/Markets/Electronics/content/schumacher.htm): another possibility, although probably not as likely as the first two. Hope that helps. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laboratory-dopers-can-you-recommend-a-vendor-for-custom-chemical-synthesis/359983/6 "2006-06-11T12:44:02Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > I asked Mrs. Giraffe, a materials engineer in the semiconductor industry. Although she doesn’t have a lot of experience with the specific situation you’re in, she did think the following companies might be able to help you: > > [Strem chemicals](http://www.strem.com/code/index.ghc): they’re good for small custom batches, although she’s not sure about their organics or if they do ultra high purity stuff. > > [Gelest](http://www.gelest.com/): she’s heard they’re good for organics > > [Shumacher](http://www.airproducts.com/Markets/Electronics/content/schumacher.htm): another possibility, although probably not as likely as the first two. > > Hope that helps. Hmmm. #s 1 and 2 look like possibilities. I will contact them. Thank you, and please thank the Mrs. for me.