I felt like a mad scientist putting everything together but pulled together a lot of info from this site and others and produced my own topical cream this morning.
Procure your materials. Everything displayed purchased from Amazon except the generic Transcutol which I got from Lab Alley (and the Rapa, the quality Zydus product from trustworthy Pravin at Varun Medical).
Mix with generic Transcutol. I am a little extra and went with Dr. Gâs formulation of appx. 4x the Drexel âguessâ; 6 mg rapa in 1.7 oz. of my traditional Olay eye cream.
After I poured the mixture into the Olay bottle, I poured a similar amount of Transcutol into the test tube and shook it up and added the dregs to the Olay to put all rapa to work. I was really worried about getting it all mixed in a manner consistent with what you would get from a compounding pharmacy and used the little Badger paint mixer to make it happen. Worked like a charm.
Did you have any issues with unpowdered portions of the tablets? My tablets almost seem to have a âskinâ that doesnât crush easily, so I get a couple of annoying little white flakes each time I use it. Iâll try dissolving it in transcutol before adding it to the cream next time.
This was the first time Iâve done it, and I pulverized my tablets really well before mixing with Transcutol. Everything seemed to dissolve very well; I was afraid to mix too much Transcutol for fear that it would make my eye serum too âwateryâ. Some folks who have crushed tablets complain that their cream feels like it has a grittiness to it but that has not been the case with me. Just enough, but not too much, Transcutol must be the key.
Hi,
That first listing from Lab Alley is what I purchased - it works great.
The second product you listed is different and I donât think you would want to use that. There has to be a reseller in Australia for Transcutol. Perhaps search on " Diethylene Glycol Monoethyl Ether" and see if you can find a reseller for that in Australia - same thing.
Basil, you definitely want the Diethylene Glycol Monoethyl Ether Purified USP Grade product, which is generic Transcutol. if they have a quantity smaller than 500 mL, get it because you need very little when mixing it with rapa for the cream. You can see the brown bottle I got from Lab Alley in my photos. The other stuff you showed looks dangerous!
I know nothing of the chemistry involved here, but what is special about Transcutol in relation to rapamycin. Can you use DMSO instead as the solvent? It is used as a carrier for many many substances. The only downside of DMSO that I find is the funny (oyster) taste that accompanies it. Itâs cheaper and easier to obtain.
Desertshores, I canât vouch for the taste but I know Dr. Mark V. on this forum recommends DMSO as a topical cream solvent and he is much more of an authority on this issue than me. Several folks on the board are reluctant for fear that it may absorb into the skin more than necessary. That is my least concern as Iâm taking 8 mg of rapa weekly with no issues except some insomnia and higher lipid levels which I address. Moreover, the Drexel U. study and the NIH recipes regarding topical cream recommend Transcutol as the solvent of choice.
Yes this (aka transcutol) is awesome. I got mine from lotioncrafter.com and it was cheap and arrived fast. Rapa capsule dissolved fully into it with a magnetic stirrer, and the resulting solution mixed perfectly into CeraVe lotion, which is light and non-greasy.
They call it ethoxydiglycol. Same thing, just different way of naming the molecule from what Iâve read (though I admit I only got a C in organic chemistry).
Yes, that is the concentration that was used in the Drexel University trial that strongly suggests the beneficial effect that rapa has on the skin. Dr. Green prefers an approximately 3x or 4x stronger concentration and that is how I formulated my DIY cream. If you get set up with the proper tools and ingredients and plan to use it long term, it is much cheaper making it yourself. The Drexel study indicates that it takes about 8 months for results to manifest. Here are links to check it out; you can find other info all over the Internet:
