Reposted in 2 parts due to hive restrictions on article size:
Thanks for the info.
FX (Dec. 25, 1997 at 09:51):
Hey, thanks a lot. You seem to know quite a bit about LSD chemistry. I'm sure that Fester's book has some errors, but I am not aware of any other book in existence on practical LSD manufacture. Are you? It is amazing how few people know anything about LSD synth, apparently it is the hardest recreational drug to manufacture of them all, much much harder than ectacy or meth. Why is this? How should someone go about learning about LSD manufacture assuming that they don't have PhDs in chemistry? According to DEA, almost all of the LSD made in the United States is made but just a handful of chemists in california! Can you believe that? A half a dozen people make amost 100 million hits per year, and they have been doing it since the 1960s! This almost blows the mind!
Forest Gump (Dec. 25, 1997 at 15:42):
Below are all the books that are in print that I know of which contain LSD synthesis procedures:
The Anarchist Cookbook, William Powell (1971);
The Book of Acid, Adam Gottlieb (1975);
Psychedelic Chemistry, Michael V. Smith (2nd Ed., 1981);
Recreational Drugs, Prof. Buzz (1989);
Practical LSD Manufacture, Uncle Fester (2nd Ed., 1997);
TIHKAL: The Continuation, Alexander Shulgin (1997).
So, which ones do I recomend for someone serious about LSD chemistry? Well, all of them! But not for the reasons you might think at first.
Most of these books contain serious errors. The Anarchist Cookbook for example has a method of "Making LSD in the kitchen" which is incorrect of course, although it does give an accurate procedure which is merely a reprint of the first part of Pioch's patent method. The Book of Acid calls to use sodium nitrate in one method, when in fact it is sodium nitrite which is used in that procedure. Recreational Drugs doesn't really contain anything that wasn't already in Psychedelic Chemistry, although it does give an incorrect LSD structure. All these books can go a long way in developing one's critical faculties though -- which is an important attribute for an LSD researcher to have, considering the B.S. factor that surrounds LSD.
So, which of these books do I think are the most important to have? All the books listed below, in order of importance:
1.) Psychedelic Chemistry; 2.) Practical LSD Manufacture; 3.) TIHKAL.
Again, not for all the obvious reasons. Number 1 and 2 contain many journal references, and so can be a good step-off point to the real gold mine: the chemical journals at your nearest university science library. TIHKAL and #1 both have the most up-to-date method, although that's the only method TIHKAL has.
Believe it or not, you can probably start learning about LSD chemistry right now if you have a chemistry text-book or are near any library. Just look-up the following (numbered in order of importance):
1.) carboxyl group;
2.) carboxylic acids;
3.) amides;
4.) amines;
also, look-up:
acid halides;
anhydrides;
mixed anhydrides;
hydrazides;
azides;
azoles;
esters;
and of course, alkaloids.
You see, LSD is an amide. LSD is usually made from lysergic acid which is a carboxylic acid and diethylamine which is an amine. Lysergic acid is in turn usually made by degradation of an amide, such as ergotamine.
All of these procedures involve the changing of one functional group: the caboxyl group. A good LSD chemistry researcher will devote much (MUCH) study to this group.
I hope that this has been helpful.
-- Forest Gump
Re: Thanks for the info
=================
Posted by Forest Gump on December 30, 1997 at 23:08:13:
In Reply to: Thanks for the info - posted by Cherry baby on December 30, 1997 at 19:30:43:
CB: (2) Another dodgy thing about Fester's "Practical LSD Manufacture" is his recommendation to make LSAs by growing ergot on rye and to plant your own rye field in order to do this! Is the man mad? Fester appears to be ignorant of the existence of C. paspali.
FG: Yes, Fester is a bit loopy to think that prospective LSD chemists are going to become Farmer for a Year. Although the method certaintly works, the labor and amount of solvents required make it impractical for one or two people.
some more references:
CB: (4) In D. M. Perrine's book "The chemistry of mind-altering drugs" pages 274-278 outline syntheses of LSD. He includes both modern total synthetic methods and clandestine methods [he figures that lysergic acid is made from either growing C. paspali to produce paspalic acid OR by diverting LSA from medicines]
Some of Perrine's references are:
Kornfeld et al; JACS 1956, 78, 3087-114 [early obsolete method]
Horwell; Tetrahedron 1980, 36, 3123-49 [review of early synth]
Oppolzer et al; Helv. Chim. Acta 1981, 64, 478-81 [modern total synth]
Oppolzer et al; Tetrahedron 1983, 39, 3695 [modern total synth]
Rebek & Tai; TL 24, 859-60 (1983), (and refs. therein.) "A New Synthesis of Lysergic Acid", [total synth from tryptophan]
Rebek, Tai & Shue; JACS 106, 1813-19 (1984) "Synthesis of Ergot Alkaloids from Tryptophan"
Kobel et al; Helv. Chim. Acta 1964, 47, 1052 [paspalic acid form C. paspali]
Troxler; Helv. Chim. Acta 1968, 51, 1372 [Isomerisation of paspalic acid to lysergic acid]
CB: (5) In M. V. Smith's "Psychedelic Chemistry" growth of C purpurea on synthetic media is described. Just about everyone claims that C purpurea will only grow on grain in a field. What's Up Doc?
FG: Getting species of Claviceps to grow in culture is easy. Getting species of Claviceps to grow in culture and produce lysergamides' is what's hard. I'm sure M. V. Smith's method in said book will work just fine for _growing_ Claviceps species, but it will all be for nought, as no lysergamides' will be produced by it.
Successful culture methods have been developed which use specific strains of both C. paspali and purpurea to produce as much as 2 to 5 g of lyseramides' per L of culture!!!!
I direct you to "Biosynthesis of Ergot Alkaloids and Related Compounds", Tetrahedron, Vol. 32, pp. 873-912 (1976). On page 883 under the heading "Industrial production of ergolines" it gives a brief overview of what I just mentioned, and gives references to those procedures.
I hope that this has been helpful for you.
Subject: References as promised...
From: aankrom@blackfoot.ucs.indiana.edu (aankrom)
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 1994 14:41:27 GMT
FN Johnson et al, JMC 16, 532 (1973) "Emetic Activity of Reduced Lysergamides", (LSAs using s-amine and POCl3)
JACS 76. 5256: TL 1969, 1569.
Detlef Groger - Chapter 12 - Ergot, p 321
----------------
References:
Boisynthesis of ergot in submerged culture: Arcamone et al, 1961, Proc. Roy. Soc. B155, 26.
Stoll & Hofmann - In "The Alkaloids" - ed Manske & Holmes, vol 8, 725-83, Acad. Press NY.
Fetoclavine & fumigaclavine in Aspergillus fumigatus Fres, Spilsbury & Wilkinson 1961,
fumigaclavine in Rhizopus nigricans - Yamano et al, 1962,
KrZ - posted 06-21-98 06:57 PM CT (US)
http://www.alltheway.com/html/ergot.html
CA: 71:P69351y : describes mutants of strain NRRL 3027 producing 2270mg/l of ergoline compounds of which 85% were amides of lysergic and isolysergic acids. (Swiss patent application)
CA: 77:P156333n : describes a method used to get 9.75g pure lysergamides from a 10 litre fermentation originally containing an estimated 15g.
CA: 94:13992r : reference Indian Drugs; 1980; 17(
228-31 Eng.
CA: 90:118108c : reference Indian Drugs; 1979; 16(4) 88-93 Eng.
Very interesting>:-||
CA: 102:219574y : Serbo-Croat areticle describing 2.2g/l prod. by C. paspali Stevens and Hall (1984).
Life History and Poisonous Properties of Claviceps paspali; H. B. Brown (Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Station); Journal of Agricultural Research ,vol. 7(9), pgs 401-405. describes on brief glance through it --- germination of the yellowish-grey sclerotia found on Paspalum dilatatum Poir. observed in the region of the Mississippi Agricultural College.
Also contains reference to Stevens and Halls' original article (1910).
* Biotechnological Exploitation of the Ergot Fungus (Claviceps Purpurea); Karl Esser and Andrea Duvell; Process Biochemistry, August 1984 pgs 142-149.
Synopsis: "The alkaloids of the ergot fungus C. purpurea and related species already known as drugs in the middle ages are still finding many uses in medical therapy (he he). Since the supply of natural grown ergots is not sufficient, the biotechnological production of ergot alkaloids has gained in importance. This requires not only an undestanding of physiological and environmental conditions, but also concerted breeding in order to increase and stabilize the production level."
* Biology of Claviceps; Willard A. Taber; Chapter 15 (sorry - i don't remember which book this came from, but it should be indexed under Taber in Biological Abstracts) pgs 449-486.
"If one desires isolates of C. paspali (which are high producers of simple amides), one must go to paspalum grass. ... C. paspali differs from all other species in possesing a yellowish tan cauliflower- shaped sclerotium rather than the purplish banana-shaped sclerotium, and it has been suggested that this species be trasnsferred to the genus Mothesia. "
*The Ergot Alkaloids; A. Stoll and A. Hofmann (THE); Chapter 21, The Alkaloids, Manske (ed. ?) vol. VIII, pgs 725-779+.
Describes lots and lots and lots of chemical detail regarding everything from biogenesis to complete chemical synthesis as a means of confirming structure. Also has a section completely devoted to "Derivatives of Ergot Alkaloids" in which the following processes for synthesizing amides are discussed:
=> The azide process.
=> DMF-SO3 mixed anhydride method.
=> mixed Lysergic acid trifluoroacetic anhydride.
=> Lysergic acid chloride hydrochloride method.
=> N,N'- carbonyldiimidazole as condensing agent (Best IMHO).
Kobel, Schreier, Rutschmann. Helv. Chim. Acta 1964, 47, 1052