home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- This is from _The Psychedelic Guide to the Preparation of the
- Eucharist, in a few of its many guises_, as edited by Robert
- E. Brown and associates of the Neo_American Church League for
- Spiritual Development & the Ultimate Authority of the Clear
- Light (1968), 2nd edition (1971)
-
-
- DMT Synthesis
-
- STEP I
-
- Using an area of good ventilation or a fume hood, place a
- 1000 ml two hole roundbottom flask in an ice bath using the
- setup in Figure II (you want a wobble stirrer in the top hole
- of the flask, and a separatory dropping funnel into the side
- entry). Add 400 ml cold anhydrous ether to the flask, in which
- 60 g indole is then dissolved, using the stirrer. To 100 ml
- anhydrous ether in a separatory funnel add 50 g oxalyl
- chloride. Slowly drip this solution into the vigorously
- stirred indole solution over a period of 10 to 15 minutes.
- Continue stirring 10 minutes longer. Allow the precipitate to
- settle a few minutes and decant the liquid. Add anhydrous
- ether and mix well. When satisfied as to the purity of the
- precipitate, leave the golden precipitate in the flask for the
- next step, which must follow immediately. Yield is
- approximately 100 g.
-
- STEP II
-
- Dimethylamine reacts readily with indole oxalyl chloride.
- Use about 400 ml ice cold anhydrous ether in the same 2 neck
- 1000 ml RB flask used in Step I, with the precipitate in it
- from Step I. Cool the ice bath further by using salt and ice.
- Estimate the weight of the precipitate and use 100 g indole
- oxalyl chloride. For this weight of IOC use two entire 50 g
- containers of diethylamine since it will not keep if the
- container seal is broken. Cool the amine in container much
- below 0 C and dissolve 1 part amine in 3 parts anhydrous cold
- ether. Amine may be stored in this solution. For use, warm
- stock solution to room temperature and use the appropriate
- aliquot. Set up the entire apparatus the same as when adding
- the oxalyl chloride. Add the amine solution slowly to the IOC
- with vigorous stirring. Stir for 1/2 hour after the addition
- is complete. Vacuum filter the precipitate, using ether as a
- wash. It is better to slurry the ether water with the
- precipitate before filtering [method used]. Recrystallise from
- hot ethanol or from a 50-50 methanol-benzene mixture.
-
- STEP III
-
- Prepare apparatus as in Figure II (1-hole 1000 ml RB
- flask set in heating mantle on magnetic stirrer with stir bar
- in flask, and condenser inserted into top of flask). Prepare
- the indole glyoxyl amide by melting and casting into sticks if
- ether is to be used as a solvent. Aluminium foil makes a good
- mould for casting pieces that will fit through the condenser.
- Also a Soxhlet extractor may be used to add the crystals by
- slow solution into the ether. Tetrahydrofluran, if available,
- dissolves IGA and the compound is added slowly in the solution
- form [method used].
-
- To a stirred mixture of 15 g LiAlH4 in 100 ml anhydrous
- ether (or THF [used]) slowly add the sticks (or solution
- [used]) of IGA until 20 g have been added. Keep the rate of
- reaction at a reasonable rate or boil-over may occur [do
- say!]. Stir and reflux for 90 minutes after the addition is
- complete. Cool in an ice bath and begin to cautiously [do
- say!] hydrolyse with chips of ice or a cold solution of
- methanol, added through the condenser. When there is no
- further reaction, add a few ml extra water and allow to settle
- finally and decant the clear liquid into an evaporating
- vessel. Filter the residue and wash several times with
- ether-methanol or THF-methanol [used]. Evaporate the combined
- extracts and if necessary, seed the heavy syrup with crystals
- of DMT. With no seed crystals the product may take days or
- even weeks to crystallise [weeks]. This crude product is
- adequate for smoking [do say!]. In order to purify DMT, begin
- after the LiAlH4 has been hydrolysed with methanol. Add 500 ml
- satd. Na2SO4 solution, mix and filter. Wash with ether or THF
- and neutralise the filtrate with 0.1 N HCl. Extract with ether
- in a separatory funnel and neutralise the lower layer with 0.1
- N NaOh, extracting this solution in turn with chloroform. The
- chloroform layer is dried over anhydrous Na2SO4, concentrated,
- and from it DMT crystallises on addition of petroleum ether.
- The mother liquor can be chromatographed on an alumina column
- using benzene-methanol in a 99.8 to 0.2 ratio. [This last
- purification is quite difficult.]
-
- --
- John Collier Email: jcollier@ariel.ucs.unimelb.edu.au
- HPS -- U. of Melbourne Fax: 61+3 344 7959
- Parkville, Victoria, AUSTRALIA 3052
-
- =============================================================================
-
- DET Synthesis (Diethyltryptamine)
-
- STEP I
-
- Same as for DMT
-
- STEP II
-
- Use 200g diethylamine per 100g IOC. Diethylamine is less volatile and
- poisonous than dimethylamine, so cooling is not necessary, but the fumes are
- poisonous. Use the same procedure otherwise. Diethyl derivative is easier to
- work with.
-
- STEP III
-
- Use same procedure and equipment. Use 22g indoleglycoxal diethylamide. The
- final product is also easier to purify.
-
-
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- NOTES
-
- STEP I
-
- Absolutely anhydrous ether is essential. A container that has been opened
- previously is no longer anhydrous. Where cooled reactions are necessary,
- remember that moisture is drawn to cold objects, and cold reagents, when left
- open or poured, become quite wet. This applies to the initial reaction on all
- three steps. A magnetic stirrer will not work for steps I and II. The
- vigorous wobble-stirrer has been found adequate do deliver the violent
- stirring needed, especially when several stirring balls are used in
- conjunction with the paddle-bar. Sparkless motors must be used around ether.
-
- Oxalyl chloride is very toxic and ventilation or a fume hood must be used.
-
- Water vapor hydrolyses product I, producing a gummy dark-red mass. Proceed
- to Step II as soon as possible.
-
- STEP II
-
- Refer to notes on anhydrous ether, stirrer, sparkless equipment, and
- ventilation in the notes for Step I.
-
- The color of the precipitate lightens somewhat as the amine is added to the
- compound I.
-
- The water in the ether is used to dissolve all low-molecular-weight amines.
-
- STEP III
-
- The crystalline amide is difficult to add to the LiAlH4 mixture. A Soxhlet
- extractor may be used to add the amide by placing it in-between the flask and
- condenser. Casting it into rods or bars is one of the simplest methods.
- Tetrahydrofuran, if available, enables the indole glycoxal amide to be
- dissolved and added as a solution; a procedure which is best and fastest of
- all. LiAlH4 is a very dangerous inflammable compound, especially so when in
- ether solution. The ether must be absolutely anhydrous or a violent
- effervescence occurs, destroying the LiAlH4 and creating a fire hazard.
- Contact of LiAlH4-ether solution with any water, damp materials, or even
- chemically bound water such as cellulose causes spontaneous combustion. A
- safety shield made from auto windshield material is a must when working with
- LiAlH4 in any form. Handling LiAlH4 is done wearing rubber gloves in a dry or
- inert atmosphere with a minimum of friction involved. Hydrolysis of the
- complex is dangerous and should be done slowly and cautiously, using an
- ice-bath to cool the mixture.
-
- Difficulty in producing crystals the first time should cause no concern
- since many organics need seed crystals to crystallize. The syrup may be used
- for some purposes but be sure to save some seed crystals if you should happen
- to get some.
-
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
-
- Journal of Organic Chemistry Vol.23, p.1977
-
- Journal of American Chemical Society Vol.76 p.6208
-
- Journal of American Chemical Society Vol.82 p.2184
-
- Chemical Abstracts Vol.53, p.11324
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
- A FINAL NOTE
- (added Mon Apr 24 21:21:25 PDT 1995 -- Yogi S*/Lamont G)
-
- The DMT recipe is misleading. Dimethylamine is a gas. DEA & DPA
- are liquids. DMA is typically sold as 40% solution dissolved in
- water. Since the indolyl reaction *must* be anhydrous, you will
- get absolutely *nothing* if you use the 40% solution. You'd either
- have to extract it into ether, and dry the ether. Or use the dry
- gas directly.
-
-