Safely mixing methanol and chloroform [closed]








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Sorry for what is likely a naive question. I haven't worked with chemicals at all and have only had some brief lab safety instruction.


I need to create a mixture of chloroform and methanol 2:1 for a lipid extraction from bone. 


I have read the safety data sheets for both chemicals but can't find any other information about how to safely create this mixture other than doing it in a fume hood. I need about 200 ml total. 


If anyone has any information or can direct me to where to look that would be MUCH appreciated. 


Thank you!!!




I am sorry to give my opinion here but I feel compelled to do so!


Security officers or the people writing the safety data sheet are motivated by only one thing: they don't want to be held liable! For them, everything is deadly and they don't even try to mitigate that (true) fact according to their audience.


As a result, all the risks are presented at the same level and nobody can really adjust his/her practices according to that.


I vividly remember one of my students at Oxford University. The rule there is(was?) that the student should copy the whole safety sheet on a form submitted to the Safety Officer before he/she can even get the chemical. My student had to do that for a ridiculous amount of cyanide and he was so stressed out that he ended up shaking and putting cyanide everywhere! I mean on the balance, around the balance, on the floor etc... I had to be besides him "It's OK, it's no big deal" while making signs to the others to not come around because there was cyanide everywhere.


So @Heather, I really advise you to ask your co-workers about the **true** risks in your field. You won't die because you had a whiff of chloroform or methanol, even though you should always work under a hood so you don't have a whiff of nasty materials. Also the safety sheets must be adapted to your own risks.


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