froehde Reagent
This reagent can only be manufactured using concentrated sulphuric (sulfuric) acid (>85% concentration but ideally 95-98%).
Concentrated sulphuric (sulfuric) acid over 15% has been made illegal to have in ones possession unless your are a Business (with a requirement for that restricted chemical) or you have a valid EPP licence purchased from the Home Office (takes ~ 28 days) and costs over £30.
As such we can ONLY sell this reagent to individuals/businesses that meet the above requirements.
Possession of such a restricted chemical in any amount (even less than 0.1mL) is an offense with a prison sentence, up to 2 years, and or a fine.
If you wish to purchase this reagent then please contact us directly to discuss.
The Froehde reagent is used as a simple spot-test to presumptively identify alkaloids, especially opioids, as well as other compounds. It is composed of a mixture of molybdic acid or a molybdate salt dissolved in hot, concentrated sulfuric acid, which is then dripped onto the substance being tested.
The United States Department of Justice method for producing the reagent is the addition of 100 mL of hot, concentrated (95–98%) sulfuric acid to 0.5 g of sodium molybdate or molybdic acid.[1]
The Virginia Department of Forensic Science method uses 0.5 g ammonium molybdate per 100 mL H2SO4 (conc.)[2]
Unheated sulfuric acid can be used to prepare the reagent in a less dangerous manner, but 2–4 hours must be allowed for the molybdate to dissolve.
