I plan to administer 25 mg corticosterone per kg mouse bodyweight. I dissolved 500 mg into 13 mL ethanol followed by heating until the corticosterone dissolves. Then I proceeded to dilute with ~78 mL sesame oil, and let the ethanol evaporate overnight. The next day I see corticosterone precipitate in sesame oil. Any advice on dissolving corticosterone at this point?
Are you sure that the ethanol evaporated? [Was the final volume of the sesame oil solution 78 cm³?]
Are you sure that the corticosterone precipitated? [Did you see crystals? Or did you obtain an oil–ethanol emulsion?]
When I diluted ethanol with sesame oil, two layers have formed (sesame oil on the bottom and ethanol on the top). Most of the ethanol evaporated, and any ethanol layer remaining was removed manually. The final volume was roughly 78 mL.
Also, I ran a separate vehicle solution where I did the same process, but without corticosterone. Afterwards, I never saw any precipitate/crystals in the vehicle compared to the corticosterone solution.
A tricky problem! Perhaps use a smaller amount of the hormone. Or use an oil with a higher polarity (triglyceride with shorter fatty acids). Good luck!
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