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  • How to dissolve Caffeine Anhydrous?

    Posted by brumanwong on March 15, 2021 at 4:36 am
    I want to make a caffeine eye serum by using Caffeine Anhydrous by Sigma-Aldrich. Catalog Number W222402

    .


    I already tried to dissolve in hot water like the formulation guide says, but it crystallized into fibrous-like substance if cooled down to room temperature. I tried to reheat it, but with no avail. It re-dissolved at hot temperature, but when it cooled down again to room temperature, it still recrystallized, and it even got worse. It looked like pulp now.

    I tried to make 5% Caffeine Eye serum like the one by The Ordinary.

    I used 75% distilled water, 7% propanediol, 2% glycerine, 5% caffeine, 5% Green Tea Extract in Propylene Glycol, 2% White Willow Extract, 2.5% Beta Glucan, 1% LMW Sodium Hyaluronate, 0.5% Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, 0.1% Xanthan Gum, 0.5% Adenosine, 1% Oligopeptide, and 0.9% Phenoxyethanol and 0.1% EDTA 4Na.

    Does anyone know how to dissolve the Caffeine properly and prevent it to recrystallized?
    Microformulation replied 3 years, 9 months ago 5 Members · 17 Replies
  • 17 Replies
  • brumanwong

    Member
    March 15, 2021 at 4:39 am

    Edit: Distilled water would be 72.4%

  • ggpetrov

    Member
    March 15, 2021 at 7:02 am

    What was the temperature of the water when you tried to dissolve the Caffeine?

  • brumanwong

    Member
    March 15, 2021 at 1:42 pm

    ggpetrov said:

    What was the temperature of the water when you tried to dissolve the Caffeine?

    it was 70-80 degrees Celcius , close to boiling temperature

  • kot

    Member
    March 15, 2021 at 6:37 pm

    ggpetrov said:

    What was the temperature of the water when you tried to dissolve the Caffeine?

    it was 70-80 degrees Celcius , close to boiling temperature

    And the PH?

  • kot

    Member
    March 15, 2021 at 6:39 pm

    Also very interested in this. But i think 5% of Caffeine is wa-a-ay too much! 😮 This  is , probably , why you cannot dissolve it.

  • ggpetrov

    Member
    March 15, 2021 at 9:10 pm

    I think you should boil the water to the 100 degrees Celsius. Only then the Caffeine will be dissolved completely. Also, you should not allow the water to be cool too fast. That’s from my personal experience with the Caffeine.

  • MarkBroussard

    Member
    March 15, 2021 at 10:14 pm

    The problem you are having is that the solubility of Caffeine is 2.17 g/ 100 ml water.  You’ll never get 5% Caffeine into an aqeous solution, the maximum would be 2.17% or actually a bit less than that.

    If you look at The Ordinary formula you will see that they are using Caffeine complexed with Maltodextrin to increase the solubility which is how they get 5% Caffeine in the product.

  • kot

    Member
    March 15, 2021 at 10:48 pm

    The problem you are having is that the solubility of Caffeine is 2.17 g/ 100 ml water.  You’ll never get 5% Caffeine into an aqeous solution, the maximum would be 2.17% or actually a bit less than that.

    If you look at The Ordinary formula you will see that they are using Caffeine complexed with Maltodextrin to increase the solubility which is how they get 5% Caffeine in the product.

    Thank you Mark! 
    But what about normal caffeine without Maltodextrin, at say 1 %, no need to lover the PH then?

  • brumanwong

    Member
    March 16, 2021 at 3:40 am

  • brumanwong

    Member
    March 16, 2021 at 3:41 am

    The problem you are having is that the solubility of Caffeine is 2.17 g/ 100 ml water.  You’ll never get 5% Caffeine into an aqeous solution, the maximum would be 2.17% or actually a bit less than that.

    If you look at The Ordinary formula you will see that they are using Caffeine complexed with Maltodextrin to increase the solubility which is how they get 5% Caffeine in the product.

    Thanks a lot!

    I’m curious about the scientific reason
    behind Maltodextrin can help increase the solubility of Caffeine and
    prevent it to recrystallized. If you know, I would appreciate it if you
    could elaborate a bit. Does it only work with Maltodextrin or is there
    any alternative? Is there any specific way working with Maltodextrin?
    any ratio with Caffeine, processing method, etc?

  • Microformulation

    Member
    March 16, 2021 at 2:04 pm

    The problem you are having is that the solubility of Caffeine is 2.17 g/ 100 ml water.  You’ll never get 5% Caffeine into an aqeous solution, the maximum would be 2.17% or actually a bit less than that.

    If you look at The Ordinary formula you will see that they are using Caffeine complexed with Maltodextrin to increase the solubility which is how they get 5% Caffeine in the product.

    Thanks a lot!

    I’m curious about the scientific reason
    behind Maltodextrin can help increase the solubility of Caffeine and
    prevent it to recrystallized. If you know, I would appreciate it if you
    could elaborate a bit. Does it only work with Maltodextrin or is there
    any alternative? Is there any specific way working with Maltodextrin?
    any ratio with Caffeine, processing method, etc?

    It isn’t something you could make nor could you just add maltodextrin. It is part of an encapsulated product. It is a raw material they purchase; 
  • MarkBroussard

    Member
    March 16, 2021 at 2:10 pm

    It’s a microencapsulation of Caffeine in Maltodextrin.  It’s a relatively common technique and there are some other compounds that can be used as the complexing agent such as Acai Senegal Gum.  If you search Google you’ll find patents that will explain the technique/process to you.

  • kot

    Member
    March 16, 2021 at 3:59 pm

    @MarkBroussard well, then it can be lipossomed then, no?

  • MarkBroussard

    Member
    March 16, 2021 at 4:51 pm

    Yes, you can prepare or purchase Lipososmal Caffeine.

  • Microformulation

    Member
    March 16, 2021 at 5:09 pm

  • brumanwong

    Member
    March 17, 2021 at 5:09 am

    The problem you are having is that the solubility of Caffeine is 2.17 g/ 100 ml water.  You’ll never get 5% Caffeine into an aqeous solution, the maximum would be 2.17% or actually a bit less than that.

    If you look at The Ordinary formula you will see that they are using Caffeine complexed with Maltodextrin to increase the solubility which is how they get 5% Caffeine in the product.

    Thanks a lot!

    I’m curious about the scientific reason
    behind Maltodextrin can help increase the solubility of Caffeine and
    prevent it to recrystallized. If you know, I would appreciate it if you
    could elaborate a bit. Does it only work with Maltodextrin or is there
    any alternative? Is there any specific way working with Maltodextrin?
    any ratio with Caffeine, processing method, etc?

    It isn’t something you could make nor could you just add maltodextrin. It is part of an encapsulated product. It is a raw material they purchase; 

    Thanks for the info, so in conclusion it must have some kind of encapsulation to address the recrystallization problem.

  • Microformulation

    Member
    March 18, 2021 at 3:56 pm

    The problem you are having is that the solubility of Caffeine is 2.17 g/ 100 ml water.  You’ll never get 5% Caffeine into an aqeous solution, the maximum would be 2.17% or actually a bit less than that.

    If you look at The Ordinary formula you will see that they are using Caffeine complexed with Maltodextrin to increase the solubility which is how they get 5% Caffeine in the product.

    Thanks a lot!

    I’m curious about the scientific reason
    behind Maltodextrin can help increase the solubility of Caffeine and
    prevent it to recrystallized. If you know, I would appreciate it if you
    could elaborate a bit. Does it only work with Maltodextrin or is there
    any alternative? Is there any specific way working with Maltodextrin?
    any ratio with Caffeine, processing method, etc?

    It isn’t something you could make nor could you just add maltodextrin. It is part of an encapsulated product. It is a raw material they purchase; 

    Thanks for the info, so in conclusion it must have some kind of encapsulation to address the recrystallization problem.

    And realize that 5% Caffeine is way too much…

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