Dear colleagues,
In Romania, we have a amber deposit located in Neamt County, with sistematic exploitation attempts made in the interwar period. Recently it has been dated as an Eocenic deposit.
When we tried to run analysis by means of gas chromatography with mass spectometry, we discovered that the samples were insoluble. Here are all of the actions we took:
1. Mechanical grinding and solubilization attempts in methanol, ethanol, toluene, tetrahydrofuran, acetone, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, ether,
2. Ultrasounding in each of the cases, with no results, and even mild heat treatments 50-60 oC.
3. Repeating the solubilization tests in solvent mixtures: methanol, acetone, with no results
Does anyone know what they may be soluble in?