Microscale molecular distillation apparatus

Description

This apparatus, which originally sold for about 0, is offered at a starting bid of .  For those not familiar with this type of still, it is used to separate very small amounts of semivolatile compounds from natural products, or a reaction mixture.  It consists of four parts: the still head, which as two lines for cooling water and one vacuum outlet with a ground glass stopcock; the sample well and oil bath; the heating coil and electrical cord; and the receiving flask.
The way this device works is as follows:  the sample is applied to the well (photo 4).  Heating oil is introduced through the outer well.  A vacuum line and cooling hoses are attached to the still head portion (photos 1 and 2).  The electrical cord is attached to a variac or other rheostat.  A thermometer is placed in the oil bath.  A vacuum pump is attached and turned on, along with the cooling water.  The variac is adjusted to heat to the desired temperature.  As product begins to distill, microdroplets collect on the cold finger and when sufficient have collected, they coalsece to a single drop that falls into the 3 mL receiving flask.
This device is easy to use and to clean.