Glucose Test Strips

[solar_plasma]

Remove the blue strip by hand craft, then the white strips go to AR or HCL/Cl. (Hobby)

or

Incinerate and AR. (Reasonable effort)

Forget everything else!

 

[g_axelsson]

What do you think of a boil in HCl after incineration but before aqua regia to make it easier to filter the ashes?

Kind of like how we treat sweeps.

Göran

 

[Bluebloomer]

Just removed 337 strips by hand, they are now soaking in a "safe" anti graffiti removal liquid (no benzeen or other harmfull stuff).

After an hour the glue can be removed by rubbing on it.

Assuming the 0,009 gr gold per strip is accurate, I should need (337 strips * 0,009 = 3,033 grams) 3,033 x 0,8 ml hno3 = 2,43 ml of nitric acid.

So the idea is to cover the strips with just enough HCL, then drip in the nitric in small increments to see the gold dissolve.

Somehow I like AR better than HCL/CL, and I believe that AR has a slighty higher efficiency over the HCL/CL method.. ?

Later on today I will wash the strips with hot water to rinse them clean, and tomorrow I will use AR to reclaim the gold.

I am curious to see if the 0,009 gr / strip holds up or comes close.

After that I will try to do the same with over a 1000 smaller glucose strips with the silver layer (if indeed it is silver...)

 

[solar_plasma]

Assuming the 0,009 gr gold per strip is accurate, I should need (337 strips * 0,009 = 3,033 grams)

I would wish people would read the whole thread! This is complete nonsens. And until the person who claims this yield, comes with proofs, I call it a lie. Those claims should be removed.

1000 strips accu chek aviva yield 0,4g.

 

[resabed01]

I processed 2500 Accucheck strips (about 454 grams) last year and obtained less than 1 gram of gold.
That said, those results are inaccurate, I had a incident where a ladder fell onto my vessel with the gold bearing solution and broke. There was some spillage and I tried to recover as much as I could but i assume I still lost some values.

 

[Bluebloomer]

I would wish people would read the whole thread!

I did read the whole threat, but I keep hoping for the best..

I had a incident where a ladder fell onto my vessel with the gold bearing solution and broke.

Sorry to hear that, allways shitty when such dumb accidents happen...

Last night I decanted the graffiti remover; it's color was yellow and the liquid was more like a syrup. Rinsed it twice with hot water and dishsoap. So later on today I will try to recover the values and then we'll see how much gold we get. What ever the yield might be, it's free gold, and the easiest recovery ever. To me it's the adventure of reclaiming the values and not the value itself that drives me.

 

[edsikes]

i could have sworn i posted on this thread....

to help everyone here out with some numbers

gold for test strip manufacturing for most major distributors is put on in three thicknesses 200 angstroms, 320 angstrom and 500 angstrom thickness depending on the brand and specifications.

500 angstrom thickness is usually on a 10 mil polyester film the yield from film alone is .08 grams per square foot on master rolls, this is before the strips are cut and etched with their circuit boards.

palladium is definitely used as a conductive application as well in many instances directly in conjunction with gold. most times it is 150 angstroms of palladium the 200 angstrom material is roughly .038 grams per square foot yield on master rolls.

i cant say whether the yields that have been mentioned previously are anywhere near correct but those are the numbers for raw rolls

as for silver. where i work they do not manufacture silver diabetic strips even though silver is the ultimate conductor it oxidizes too much and isnt as reliable. i dont know how the conductive inks are manufactured but they may be made with some silver in them...

 

[scrappappy]

There was a company called GSI that did some market research on the manufacturing of glucose test strips a few years ago. I thought some of their findings might be helpful here.

They found that most of the industry was moving to test strips made only from carbon electrodes. Most are now either printed carbon or printed carbon and silver. The Carbon type was was used nearly twice as much as any other type.. and that was back in 2013. That jives with what I'm seeing as a diabetic also. All of the options through my insurance are either the carbon or carbon silver type now. I've tried several times to have them cover the old gold type that i prefer using but they've phased them out from the prescription plan.

Anyway, for those still recovering the old gold and palladium strips I thought some of this might be useful.

http://www.biosensingconference.com/resources/downloads/GSI%20Technologies%20BioSensing%20Technology%202013%20Workshop.pdf

 

[edsikes]

There was a company called GSI that did some market research on the manufacturing of glucose test strips a few years ago. I thought some of their findings might be helpful here.

They found that most of the industry was moving to test strips made only from carbon electrodes. Most are now either printed carbon or printed carbon and silver. The Carbon type was was used nearly twice as much as any other type.. and that was back in 2013. That jives with what I'm seeing as a diabetic also. All of the options through my insurance are either the carbon or carbon silver type now. I've tried several times to have them cover the old gold type that i prefer using but they've phased them out from the prescription plan.

Anyway, for those still recovering the old gold and palladium strips I thought some of this might be useful.

http://www.biosensingconference.com/resources/downloads/GSI%20Technologies%20BioSensing%20Technology%202013%20Workshop.pdf

Gold strips aren't "old" they are currently the most reliable on the market the electrostatic inks have a much higher error rate than gold test strips. I know this might sound a little eccentric and narcissistic, but I'm Pretty sure I'm the closest thing to an expert on blood glucose test strips that there is on this forum.

 

[scrappappy]

Gold strips aren't "old" they are currently the most reliable on the market the electrostatic inks have a much higher error rate than gold test strips. I know this might sound a little eccentric and narcissistic, but I'm Pretty sure I'm the closest thing to an expert on blood glucose test strips that there is on this forum.

Agreed. From my experience as a diabetic the gold test strips are more reliable but unfortunately insurance companies phasing them out of most policies, I would assume it's mostly because of cost rather than effectiveness. I was only calling the gold strips "old" in the context of them being covered by most insurance plans, which will unfortunately limit their use.. and eventually their availability in a refining sense.

 

[solar_plasma]

200 angstroms, 320 angstrom and 500 angstrom thickness

Estimating 1cm² plated areal per strip this makes ~0,9g, ~1,5g and ~2,3g (+/-0,1g) per 2400 strips. The first one is what anyone (including myself) confirmed by any method processing accu-chek strips.

 

[Anonymous]

Gold strips aren't "old" they are currently the most reliable on the market the electrostatic inks have a much higher error rate than gold test strips. I know this might sound a little eccentric and narcissistic, but I'm Pretty sure I'm the closest thing to an expert on blood glucose test strips that there is on this forum.

Wow- - just wow.

 

[Jacks]

Hi etack,

I have remove all I can and all I see now is gold on one side with a little glue. Should I remove the glue? Do I need to change anything what I wrote how to process them? There no base metal to deal with as I can see. I can say 108 strips is about 36 sq. inch.

The strips cost me $0.00 they are free. My brother, my friends and me use Accu-Chek strips. My wife strips are TrueTest.

Jack

Is it silver in the True test strips? My husband uses them also.

 

[solar_plasma]

What do you think of a boil in HCl after incineration but before aqua regia to make it easier to filter the ashes?

Kind of like how we treat sweeps.

Göran

First now I saw your question, Göran. Sorry.

I think the ashes contain nothing soluable by HCl, because when it is leached with weak AR, the solids do not change their shape or behaviour. I can only assume it is something like super fine SiO2 as a filler.


Right now I am scrapping 4800 strips (700-800 pieces/h 8) ), that a family clan member is saving for me, in return she gets a bottle of Pernod every christmas :lol:

 

[solar_plasma]

I would wish people would read the whole thread!

I did read the whole threat, but I keep hoping for the best..

I had a incident where a ladder fell onto my vessel with the gold bearing solution and broke.

Sorry to hear that, allways shitty when such dumb accidents happen...

Last night I decanted the graffiti remover; it's color was yellow and the liquid was more like a syrup. Rinsed it twice with hot water and dishsoap. So later on today I will try to recover the values and then we'll see how much gold we get. What ever the yield might be, it's free gold, and the easiest recovery ever. To me it's the adventure of reclaiming the values and not the value itself that drives me.

Can you tell us some yields now after you dissolved the plastic by the good stuff? It is a pitty it is impossible to get the graffiti remover in Germany anymore (precurser). I've never seen anything else that is such a nice solvent for plastics.

 

[edsikes]

Hi etack,

I have remove all I can and all I see now is gold on one side with a little glue. Should I remove the glue? Do I need to change anything what I wrote how to process them? There no base metal to deal with as I can see. I can say 108 strips is about 36 sq. inch.

The strips cost me $0.00 they are free. My brother, my friends and me use Accu-Chek strips. My wife strips are TrueTest.

Jack

Is it silver in the True test strips? My husband uses them also.

it is not silver in the test strips. silver oxidizes and makes it a poor choice for blood glucose test strips. tru test is a nipro company and they use sputtered palladium in their test strips.

 

[edsikes]

Gold strips aren't "old" they are currently the most reliable on the market the electrostatic inks have a much higher error rate than gold test strips. I know this might sound a little eccentric and narcissistic, but I'm Pretty sure I'm the closest thing to an expert on blood glucose test strips that there is on this forum.

Wow- - just wow.

wow what?

does anyone else here work for a thin film deposition company that manufactures diabetic test strips? because i havent seen them post on this thread.

 

[edsikes]

200 angstroms, 320 angstrom and 500 angstrom thickness

Estimating 1cm² plated areal per strip this makes ~0,9g, ~1,5g and ~2,3g (+/-0,1g) per 2400 strips. The first one is what anyone (including myself) confirmed by any method processing accu-chek strips.

solar you're estimates would be spot on if the test strip was still completely coated but the strip leaves us and goes to the manufacturer and the goes through laser ablation where they etch the circuit board onto the strips thus removing a portion of the pm i dont know the exact amount they remove but i would be willing to estimate 50% is ablated to create the circuit.

 

[solar_plasma]

Now I used Gimp to enlarge the picture of a strip in order to get a more precise number on the areal: 1.6 cm² (x 2400 => 1,4 g gold)

So my estimation was on the safe side (I always trying to guess low). I can hardly imagine, there have been 40% losses, since the strips were clean and white after leaching. On the other hand, with such small amounts most tests were done (1000pieces, 0.4g from maybe 500ml or even more liquid) it seems not impossible.

I wonder what the 4800 pieces batch will yield plus now I have a better weight, that is pretty exact in 0.01g steps. And this time I think I will concentrate the solution by vaporizing before I precipitate.

 

[solar_plasma]

@Göran, I found something about the filler:

BaSO4 is commonly used as a white coloured filler and carbon and oxygen are the main constituents
of the polymer.

http://www.oxford-instruments.com/O...ble-electronics.pdf?width=0&height=0&ext=.pdf

this could be treated in a equilibirum reaction:
Na2CO3(aq. conc) + BaSO4(s) = Na2SO4(aq) + BaCO3(s)
and the BaCO3 could be dissolved by HCl or HNO3
http://www.chemicalforums.com/index.php?topic=25708.0

a lot of effort, but obviously a possible way