Difference between revisions of "Chilled Acetone with IPA and Naphtha"

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== Headline text ==
 
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[[CIALO]]
 
  
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= Introduction πŸ™=
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=Introduction πŸ™=
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'''CIALO''' stands for '''C'''rystals '''I'''n '''A'''queous '''L'''ayer '''O'''ver-the-counter.
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Pure DMT free base can form white crystals, yellow powder, and orange to red wax/goo. This wide range of appearance could be due to self aggregation because of indole ring pi bond stacking <ref>Polymer MS evidence[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=88183]</ref> (see Fig. 1).
  
  
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In this technique (TEK), ethyl acetate is used to extract freebase harmala from ground rue seed alkaline paste. Water, NaCl, and citric acid are added to the ethyl acetate to precipitate harmine and harmaline HCl crystalline salts in the aqueous layer. The harmala salts are caught in a coffee filter, squeeze dried, and collected.
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This technique (TEK) focuses on maximizing white crystalline DMT by minimizing self aggregation during extraction.
  
  
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Thanks to _Trip_ and Loveall for their contributions to this process..
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Thanks to benzyme for showing MS evidence of DMT weakly bonding to itself, and to Jees, downwardsfromzero, IridiumAndLace, and Loveall for their contributions to this process in the forum<ref>Minimum Polymer[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=97103]</ref>.
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[[File:Dmt copy 800x364.png| center]]
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<center>''Fig. 1: Mass spectrum of DMT goo (from benzyme). Peaks in multiples of 188m/z unmask the nature of DMT goo as DMT-DMT bonding aggregation (possibly through indole ring pi stacking).</center>
  
 
= Safety ⛑️=
 
= Safety ⛑️=
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Review ethyl acetate<ref>Ethyl acetate safety[https://www.msdsonline.com/2015/04/10/ethyl-acetate-a-sweet-smelling-safety-hazard/#:~:text=Ethyl%20acetate%20is%20highly%20flammable,with%20the%20eyes%20or%20skin.]</ref> and citric acid<ref>Citric Acid Safety[https://wiki.dmt-nexus.me/Citric_Acid_Safety#Process_.F0.9F.A5.9E]</ref> safety information. Verify solvent MSDS, plastic compatibility, and clean evaporation.
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Review NaOH<ref>NaOH safety[https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/sodium-hydroxide/default.html]</ref> and naphtha <ref>Naphtha safety[https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0664.html]</ref> safety information. Verify solvent MSDS purity, plastic compatibility, and clean evaporation.
  
  
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This TEK is food safe if food grade materials are used.
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Never have solvents near an open flame.
  
  
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=MaterialsπŸ›’=
 
=MaterialsπŸ›’=
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==ConsumablesπŸ‘©β€πŸŒΎ==
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* 800ml water
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* 100g of mimosa hostilis root bark
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* 10g ascorbic acid (Vitamin C)
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* 50g KCl
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* 250ml of '''light''' naphtha/hydrocarbons†
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* 25g of NaOH
  
  
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==ConsumablesπŸ‘©β€πŸŒΎ==
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†''It is very important to use a source of light hydrocarbons (~8 carbon chains or lower). The smaller organic molecules used in lighter fluids seem to reduce DMT aggregation. Naptha used in paint thinning applications tends to be too heavy (10+ carbon chains). Ronsonol is a good lighter fluid choice available over the counter. Avoid products with anti rust or dyes (e.g. Coleman camping fuel).''
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*100g water
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*20g washing soda
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*100g ground rue seeds
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*~3/4qt ethyl acetate (also sold as "MEK substitute")
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* Another 200g of water
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*5g of citric acid
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* 30g of NaCl
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*More washing soda and pH paper (to wash solvent for reuse)
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==Equipment🏺==
 
==Equipment🏺==
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*Coffee grinder
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* Stovetop
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*French press for mixing and pulling rue with ethyl acetate (a quart jar also works but is not as easy as the French press)
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* Pot with lid
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*Quart jar to collect pulls and precipitate harmala HCl
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* Quart jars
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*Coffee filters, support basket, and funnel
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* Scale
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*Kitchen scale to weigh materials
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* Pipette
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*Pot and source of heat to warm water
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* Shallow pyrex baking dish
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* Freezer
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* Fan
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[[File:IMG 20210608 223040865 copy 800x600.jpg|center]]
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* Scraping tool
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<center>''Fig. 1: Over the counter materials.</center>
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= Process Overview πŸ‘€ =
 
= Process Overview πŸ‘€ =
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*Cell lysing❄️: In a small pot, freeze/thaw powdered bark and water three times
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*De-polymerizeπŸ’”: Add citric acid together with KCl and brew at 150F for an hour and cool
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*PullπŸ‘©β€πŸ”¬: Add light hydrocarbon solvent, basify with NaOH, shake and pull warm solvent at ~120F. Repeat 5x
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*Collect✨: Freeze precipate solvent<sup>†</sup>, decant, dry, and scrape
  
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*Make alkaline rue paste, let it sit for 10+ minutes
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''<sup>†</sup>Evaporation is skipped and max yield is achieved on reused solvent.
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*Pull several times with boiling ethyl acetate (warm using pot with hot water). Combine pulls, remove excess particles or water droplets
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*Add citric acid, water, and salt to combined pulls and dissolve everything over a hot water bath
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*Rest in fridge overnight for harmaline HCl xtals to form
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*Filter xtals by pouring solvent and xtals through coffee filter
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*Squeeze with paper towel to dryness
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*Recover dried xtals from coffee filter
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= Detailed Process πŸ“œ=
 
= Detailed Process πŸ“œ=
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== Cell Lysing ❄️==
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Freeze/thaw bark mixed with 800ml of water in a pot with a lid. Repeat twice for a total of 3 times. Process can be sped up defrosting over low heat.
  
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==De-polymerizationπŸ’”==
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Stir in ascorbic acid and KCl. Heat gently to 150F. Cover pot with lid and keep it at this temperature (e.g. using very low heat) for one hour.
  
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== Paste 🌡 ==
 
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Dissolve washing soda into water in a french press (or a quart jar). Ground rue seeds and add then to the water, stirring thoroughly for 10 minutes to gradually incorporate the cactus into the milky water.
 
  
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Ascorbic acid and plant enzymes degrade at high temperatures, especially above 150F-175F. K+ ions are good at disturbing DMT pi bond aggregation in water and superior to Na+ ions.
  
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[[File:IMG 20210603 183405358 copy 800x600.jpg|center]]
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== Pull πŸ‘©β€πŸ”¬==
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<center>''Fig. 2: Cactus lime paste. Appearance can vary.</center>
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Transfer treated liquid and bark to a mason quart jar (or another suitable container). Add water if needed so quart jar is close to being full. Shake in ~65ml of light naphtha. Add lye and shake vigorously for a few minutes. Solution will warm up slightly as lye dissolves and will quickly go from red, to milky, to dark red.
  
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== Extract πŸ‘¨πŸΎβ€πŸ”¬==
 
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Cover paste with ethyl acetate (~100g) and stir gently for 45-60 seconds. Heat in a hot water bath brining ethyl acetate to a boil and extract for at least 10 minutes, stirring every couple minutes or so (do not have any open flame sources and work in a well ventilated area). You do not need to stir aggressively as boiling ethyl acetate is efficient at pulling freebase harmala from the seed material. Decant into quart jar filtering through a coffee filter to catch unwanted plant material. Do not squeeze with the French press, its purpose is to only hold back the paste from falling into the filter. Squeezing can push unwanted plant material or water into the extract. Repeat adding ethyl acetate, heating, stirring, and decanting until 3/4 quarts are used.  This will be about 5 total pulls.
 
  
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Rest jar in a warm water bath until naphtha layer separates (~10 minutes, see Fig. 3). If separation is not complete after 30 minutes, mix in another 5g of lye and try again.
  
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Rest the combined extract for at least an hour and then inspect for droplets or particles. If present, allow extract to rest until no more debris form and remove them.
 
  
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Move naphtha into a pint jar with a pipette It is ok if a few drops of watery extract or bark particles come through (they will be decanted in the next section).
  
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To be sure extract is clean, at least one extra pass through a fresh coffee filter after settling is recommended. '''The extract needs to be clean in order for the crystallization process to happen reliably''' (see Fig. 3).
 
  
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Add another ~65ml of naphtha to the quart jar. Shake for a few minutes, rest in a warm water bath until layers separate, and pipette naphtha into the pint jar. Perform this step two more times (total of 4 pulls, including the first one).
  
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'''Room temperature extract option:''' With this option the paste is extracted at room temperature over 24 hours and shaken throughout the day. This extraction is slower, but yields are similar[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1108612#post1108612]</ref>.
 
  
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Ideally, all four pulls are done within an hour while the quart jar is slightly warm from the lye dissolving in water.
  
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[[File:IMG_20210601_122315740_copy_600x800.jpg| center]]
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<center>''Fig. 3: Ethyl acetate extract. Color may vary, but extract must be clear and free of debris.</center>
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[[File:IMG 20211020 090639578 copy 600x1122 copy 427x800.jpg|center]]
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<center>''Fig. 3: Settled naphtha pull ready to be pipetted.</center>
  
 
== Crystalize ✨==
 
== Crystalize ✨==
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Add 20g of NaCl, 5g of citric acid, and 150 grams of water to the quart jar. White clouds will form in ethyl acetate and red precipitate in the water layer. Shake well and heat in a hot water bath, gently swirling until precipitate in the water layer is dissolved (remember to release pressure regularly while heating). Allow to cool to room temperature and move to the fridge for 24 hours. Harmine and harmaline HCl crystals should form in the aqueous layer.  
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Carefully decant naphtha pulls to a new fresh pint jar. Do not allow any watery extract or particles to come through.
  
  
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'''Fast crystalization option:''' Skip the heat bath and recover the smaller xtals that form initially. While faster, these crystals are smaller with potentially more places for trace contaminants to cling to.
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Place naphtha in freezer to precipitate crystals<sup>†</sup>. Rest in freezer until cloudiness clears (at least 24 hours).
  
  
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[[File:IMG 20210311 144419793 (1) copy 800x600.jpg|center]]<center>''Fig. 4: Crystals in aqueous layer after heat bath crystallisation. Appearance will vary.</center>
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Decant naphtha off crystals, and immediately dry with the help of a fan.  Once dry, dissolve xtals in a minimal amount of boiling fresh naphtha (~25ml) for 15 minutes, pout into a shallow baking dish, evaporate slowly (no fan), and scrape. This is the final product. Yields are typically 1 to 3%.
  
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== Collect πŸ’–==
 
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Catch loose crystals in a coffee filter. Rinse crystals on wall and filter with fresh ethyl acetate (~2-3x until off color is removed). Collect crystals stuck on the jar walls by dissolving them in warm water, evaporating in a shallow
 
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dish, and scraping up dry crystals. Combine with the collected crystals from the filter to obtain the final product (Fig. 5).
 
  
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''<sup>†</sup>If new naphtha was used, one option is to evaporate the solvent until slightly cloudy with the help of a fan in a well ventilated area. A better option is to skip the solvent evaporation. Yield will be lower by ~500mg if using new naphtha, but it will be available for reuse as a one-time "investment" for the next extraction. Subsequently, used naphtha does not need to be evaporated before freezing to get the full yield since it already comes preloaded with a DMT concentration that is saturated at the freezer's temperature.''
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Yield depends on the cactus and is usually between 0.2% to 2% with ~1% being common<ref>Cactus analysis thread[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=71353]</ref>. The precise ratio of mescaline and citrate in the precipitate is not known and is under investigation (see development notes below). Preliminarily data indicate the salt made my this process is ~60% as strong as mescaline HCl and consistent with the salt form (MesH)H<sub>2</sub>Cit. Approximate oral dosage recommendations for mescaline HCl can be found elsewhere<ref>Mescaline Oral Dosage[https://wiki.dmt-nexus.me/Mescaline#Dosages_and_consumption_methods]</ref>.
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[[File:IMG 20210603 130102387 copy 600x800 copy 800x600.jpg|center]]
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<center>''Fig. 5: Final mescaline citrate crystals. Appearance will vary.</center>
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Mass spectrometry (MS) results from solaris analytical<ref>Solaris analytical service[https://www.solarisanalytical.com/]</ref> indicate the product is very clean mescaline (Fig. 6).
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[[File: Cactus-extract copy 800x600_1.jpg|center]]''<center>Fig. 6: Mass spectrometry result. Peak near 210.5 is mescaline. Lower mass peaks are mescaline with cleaved functional groups. The peak at 239.5 is not attributed to mescaline. </center>
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== Reclaim Solvent πŸ’š==
 
== Reclaim Solvent πŸ’š==
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Used solvent from the microwave paste process saturates with tan color and can be reused many times. This process is recommended for reuse. The non microwaved paste seems to load the solvent with chlorophyll indefinitely, making it black/opaque and difficult to reuse.
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Simply reuse freeze precipitated naphtha as-is. Re-used naphtha is saturated with DMT at freezer the temperature (~2mg/ml) and pre-freezer evaporation is not needed. Easy 😊
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Wash spent extract with sodium carbonate saturated water (35% by weight). About 1/5 of the solvent volume as saturated water is enough. Shake vigorously (emulsions do not form). CO2 bubbles may be visible during citric acid neutralization. Keep an eye on any bubbles and release any pressure buildup regularly. Neutralization can be optionally verified with pH paper. Filter any excess sodium carbonate/citrate and remove the water layer. Tan solvent can be reused on another microwaved paste.
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If planning to extract cold, chilled reused paste will have ice crystals that can be removed with a filter before the cold extraction.
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= Frequently Asked Questions ❓ =
 
= Frequently Asked Questions ❓ =
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'''Q: Why does the TEK have so many options. I feel like I'm choosing my own adventure!'''
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'''Q: That's a lot of hypothesis you got down in the appendix. Have any experimental evidence consistent with them?'''
  
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A: The options exist to help with crystallization for variable starting plant material. The easiest material to crystalize experimentally seems to be aged pachanoi outer skin powder (aged long enough to change color from green to tan). A more difficult material to crystalize is whole bridgessi powder recently dried and ground. For outer skin pachanoi the simpler path has worked for many without adding any options: no microwave, room temp extraction, no solvent dry with washing soda, and citric acid diffusion. For whole cactus more work may be needed to keep plant material interfering with crystallization by adding all options: microwave paste, cold extraction, citric acid added with continuous magnetic stirrer. Finally, to grow large crystals good options are to microwave the paste and use cold pulls (while allowing citric acid to diffuse slowly). Current general guidelines (as of summer 2021):
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A: Yes. Benzyme's MS, together with polymerization and de-polymerization experiments. As far as we know experiments are consistent with the hypotheses listed. The community is welcome to update this Wiki entry as more evidence arises, especially if any of the hypotheses are disproved (thank you).
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* Outer skin pachanoi: Use no options.
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* Whole cactus: Use all options, or at least the microwave option.
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*Planning to reuse solvent: Use microwave option.
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* Max size crystals: Use outer skin powder with microwave paste and cold extraction options. Fresh ethyl acetate is recommended also. To crystallize, drop acid in an isolated quiet room for 12 hours πŸ˜‰.
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'''Q: Does increasing the basing time increase the yield?'''
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'''Q: What's so special about Vitamin C?'''
  
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A: No.  Shroombee has tested 15 minute, 24 hour, and 72 hour basing times and there was no difference in yield.  Other process variables were 8 minutes incorporating milky water with cactus, 6x3 minute pulls, and 15 mg/gram citric acid added with the fast crystallization method.  Loveall has confirmed in his experiments that 10 minute and 24 hour basing times produce the same yield.  So we assume that any basing time from 10 minutes through 72 hours will produce the same yield.  See a detailed explanation in this post.<ref>Basing time tests results[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1109045#post1109045]</ref>
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A: See the development notes in appendix below.
  
  
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'''Q: What’s the difference between adding 5 mg/gram and 15 mg/gram of citric acid in the fast crystalization method?'''
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'''Q: Why are there only 3 pulls without a warm water bath or salting out ionic strength? Usually ~5 warm (40-50C) + high ionic strength pulls (~6% NaCl) are needed.'''
  
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A: In general, adding more citric acid and aggressively stirring or shaking will force xtals to form faster.  However, the xtals will be smaller and more dense.  5mg/g produces fluffier xtals that are more likely to stick to the sides of the container, thus requiring a wash and evaporation process to recover these sticky xtals. 15 mg/g produces smaller, denser xtals that are less likely to stick to the sides of the container.  When pouring through a coffee filter, a negligible amount of tiny xtals will drop through the coffee filter.  
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A: DMT monomer is highly soluble in naphtha and has an excellent partition coefficient. By converting natural DMT to this form, and keeping alkaline conditions gentle to avoid polymerization, the pulls are simpler and very efficient. No added heat or ionic strength is necessary.
  
  
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'''Q: What is the upper limit of citric acid that can be added to the extract?'''
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'''Q: What is the difference between DMT polymers, oligomers, aggregates, and aromatic pi-pi stacking?'''
  
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A: The solubility of citric acid in ethyl acetate is over 50 mg citric acid per gram of ethyl acetate.  Note that plant matter or other unwanted extraction products may affect the solubility.  Stay well under 50 mg/gram to ensure no undissolved citric acid is mixed in with the mescaline citrate.
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A: None, all names are equivalent and refer to the same thing: weakly bonded groups of DMT molecules that form goo instead of crystals.
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'''Q: After adding citric acid, I saw clouds followed by precipitation, but the precipitate reminds me of citric acid. How do I know a mescaline salt is precipitating and not citric acid?'''
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A: Citric acid does not precipitate and stays in solution because it is well bellow its solubility limit (50mg/g) in the TEK. The white particles that form from the clouds are salts and not citric acid. A thorough swirl may be needed at the end to make sure all the added citric acid has dissolved. Once it has dissolved it will not come out of solution as citric acid.
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'''Q: After adding citric acid, I saw clouds but didn't get any solid precipitation, what gives?'''
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A: First make sure the TEK instructions were followed, in particular: well mixed paste, short pull times, no squeezing, clean extract free of debris, washing soda dry, citric acid is in range, etc. If nothing is precipitating, bring up the citric acid concentration up to 20mg/g and wait a few days. Check the jar walls, a transparent product may have precipitated there (e.g. this has been reported for whole bridgessi<ref>Whole bridgessi precipitate on jar walls [https://mycotopia.net/topic/111136-lets-talk-about-cactus-extractions/#entry1487992]</ref>). Whole cactus seems more difficult to precipitate. A microwave paste treatment and colder pulls with ethyl acetate chilled down to 0F grow larger crystals and should be easier to precipitate because they contain less plant material. If all else fails, pulling the extract with water, evaporating, and washing with fresh ethyl acetate should leave behind a potent residue (dose will be less accurate and can be made proportional to starting cactus amount).
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'''Q: Why don't we know the precise salt form and why does it matter?'''
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A: We think it depends on what crashes first as the acid and base react. Work is ongoing to experimentally verify what that is. In practice this affects yield and dosage numbers as the (di) hydrogen salts are less potent by weight. Update: Early data indicates the dihydrogen salt is forming in this TEK (see below).
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= Appendix: Development Notes πŸ”¬=
 
= Appendix: Development Notes πŸ”¬=
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== Paste 🌡==  
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== Hypotheses πŸ€”==  
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No improvements were seen with longer basing time, drying, or increasing the ionic strength.
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This TEK hypothesizes that:  
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Paste made with sodium carbonate saturated water congeals over time and requires long solvent soaks which are darker and don't crystallize to large loose crystals (small sticky crystals were obtained).
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In the optional microwave treatment, Microwave Assisted Saponification (MAS<ref>Microwave assisted saponification[https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/2/445/pdf]</ref>) breaks down esters (generally soluble in ethyl acetate which is itself an ester) into carboxylate ions and organic alcohols. An important example is,
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'''<span style="color: Orange"> <div style="text-align: center;">Chlorophyll + 2OH<sup>-</sup> β‡’ Chlorophyllin<sup>--</sup> + Phytol + Ethanol</div></span>'''
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This breakdown reduces the total amount of plant matter in the extract. In general, large complex esters become smaller organic alcohols. The resulting extract has improved crystallization, but this step is not always required to obtain a product, especially when starting with aged tan outer skin powder.
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== Extract πŸ‘¨πŸΎβ€πŸ”¬==
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Tests with longer/warmer pulls resulted in darker extract, smaller crystals, solvent paste absorption, congealing of paste, and no yield benefit.
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Chemically drying the extract with a drying agent such as anhydrous CaCl2, MgSO4, Na2CO3 monohydrate (aka super washing soda in the US) had no benefits in preliminarily experimental examples. However, depending on the worker and technique, a chemical dry could reduce water content in the solvent and possibly make crystallization less problematic. After some experience from users, a sodium carbonate wash was recommended in the main TEK. However, this step is optional as the process can still work without it. It was added as an option to increase the robustness of the process.
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== Crystalize ✨==
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During crystallization, citric acid ('''H<sub>3</sub>Cit''') reacts with free base mescaline ('''Mes''') to form to form a mescaline citrate salt. The number of mescaline molecules ('''n''') that react with one molecule of citric acid and precipitate is unknown.
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'''<span style="color: Orange"> <div style="text-align: center;">nMes<sub>(↑)</sub> + H<sub>3</sub>Cit<sub>(↑)</sub> β‡’ (MesH)<sub>n</sub>H<sub>3-n</sub>Cit<sub>(↓)</sub></div></span>'''
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Where '''n''' could be 1, 2, or 3. The resulting mescaline citrate salt's strength relative to mescaline HCl is 62%, 81%, and 90% respectively. Preliminarily experimental results indicate n=1<ref>Mescaline Citrate conversion to HCl results[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1111858#post1111858]</ref>.
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Excess citric acid shifts the precipitation reaction to the right (Le Chatelier's principle), helping overcome water and plant material. There is a lot room for excess citric acid in solution since its solubility is 50mg/g in ethyl acetate. The TEK has options ranging from ~6 to 18mg/g and since cacti and pull techniques can vary, users may find other values work better for their specific situation (in one example with whole cactus powder 20mg/g was used <ref>Ethyl acetate approach[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=96262]</ref>).
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*Not all of the DMT is in the plant in monomer form, some of it is in macro-molecule form (also called polymer, oligomer, or goo)
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*In addition to natural DMT polymer, even more polymer can form during the basing step under high alkaline, high ionic strength, and high DMT concentration conditions
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*Once natural DMT polymer is broken down, gentle alkaline conditions keep it from forming again
 +
*Goo can also form in the solvent. Using lighter naphtha (shorter carbon chains) minimizes DMT goo formation.
 +
*DMT monomer properties compared to DMT polymer:
 +
**Easier to dissolve in naphtha (better partition coefficient)
 +
**Barely clouds during naphtha evaporation
 +
**Slowly crashes during freeze precipitation as white crystals. In contrast, DMT polymer precipitates sooner as yellow/orange/red semisolid goo
 +
**Easier to handle and dose precisely
 +
**Low and consistent vaporization temperature, ideal for newer electronic vaporization devices with precisely tuned temperature settings
 +
**Visibly unique upon crystalization, eliminating questions around plant oil contaminants
 +
**May be easier to complex with HPBCD for sublingual administration
 +
**It is unknown if it has better bioavailability for oral or rectal administration. In principle, stomach acid should be able to break down DMT polymer, so perhaps there is no difference for oral administration
 +
**There is no expected benefit for torch vaporization by an experienced user since the strong heat produced manually can easily vaporize everything. However, the process window between vaporizing and burning the DMT is larger for the monomer which may benefit the inexperienced user
  
 +
==Strategy β™ŸοΈ==
 +
The strategy of this minimum polymer TEK is to break down both natural DMT aggregates during the acid step and minimize DMT aggregation during the basing and pulling steps.
  
βˆ’
Several factors can make crystals smaller: Reusing ethyl acetate, longer/warmer pulls, higher citric acid concentration, mechanical agitation, and other potential variables. Small crystals can look like a fine powder. Potency does not seem affected by the crystallization appearance, and a powdery precipitate is not a problem unless it becomes difficult to decant/filter.
 
  
 +
Aggressive alkaline concentration conditions are avoided. While these type of processes can break down plant material, their downside is that they don't break down natural DMT aggregates and can even increase the degree of polymerization.
  
βˆ’
After the initial crystallization, adding more citric acid and/or moving the extract to the refrigerator did not result in any more precipitation. Moving the extract to the freezer produced ice crystals.
 
  
 +
Fortunately, DMT aggregates can break down in acidic conditions. Therefore, to simultaneously break down DMT aggregates and plant material, a long acidic pressure cooking step is used (described before by for example Northener). Vitamin C is used to complete de-aggregation due to its good experimental performance and some literature references referring to it's ability to disrupt pi-pi bonds<ref>Uric acid de-aggregation by vitamin C[https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/cp/d1cp01504d/unauth]</ref>, but other acids could also work. Subsequently, relatively gentle ionic strength (no added salt), gentle alkaline pH (no excess lye beyond emulsion breakdown), and low DMT concentration (<0.5%) conditions are used to minimize any DMT re-polymerization. Naphtha is introduced before basing to minimize the time bulk DMT spends in alkaline water.
  
βˆ’
Other dry organic acids could work. Malic was tested but did not work as well as citric<ref>Malic acid test[https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1097979#post1097979]</ref>. Fumaric, Tartaric, Ascorbic, Succinic, etc can be tested in future investigations.
+
== Vitamin C 🍊==
 +
Experimentally, Vitamin C produced better results compared to acetic and citric acids. Vitamin C is biologically active as a mild antioxidant and reducing agent and can pass through cell membranes.
  
  
βˆ’
10% sulfuric acid was tested and while some crystals formed, a separate liquid layer also appeared making the process not practical.
+
Vitamin C begins to degrade at 158F. The activity of vitamin C decreases with temperature, so it is added when the extract is still hot yet below this degradation temperature.
  
βˆ’
== Collect πŸ’–==
 
  
 +
A possible specific mechanism of action is that as a strong electron donor,  vitamin C disrupts parallel displaced aromatic ring pi-bond stacking conformations<ref>Pi-bond aromatic stacking[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi-Stacking_(chemistry)]</ref><ref>Tryptophan parallel displaced stacking[https://www.jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(18)80815-8/fulltext]</ref>.
  
βˆ’
Washing crystals in a filter appears to wick away plant colors and superior to decanting.
 
  
 +
Other acids may also work, and the kitchen alchemist is encouraged to report on any new experimental results (both positive and negative).
  
βˆ’
The washed crystals in the filter can also be dissolved in warm water along with any wall crystals. This will give then final product a uniform appearence.
+
== Cloudiness 🌫️==
 +
DMT monomer does not readily form clouds in naphtha compared to other extractions that do not minimize polymer. In this TEK clouds form later in the freezer or evaporation process and are not as opaque. Late cloud formation is a good sign and not a cause for concern. Monomer crystals take longer to grow in the freezer, so give them extra time.
  
 
= References πŸ—οΈ=
 
= References πŸ—οΈ=
 
<references/>
 
<references/>

Latest revision as of 13:22, 11 July 2022


Introduction πŸ™

Pure DMT free base can form white crystals, yellow powder, and orange to red wax/goo. This wide range of appearance could be due to self aggregation because of indole ring pi bond stacking [1] (see Fig. 1).


This technique (TEK) focuses on maximizing white crystalline DMT by minimizing self aggregation during extraction.


Thanks to benzyme for showing MS evidence of DMT weakly bonding to itself, and to Jees, downwardsfromzero, IridiumAndLace, and Loveall for their contributions to this process in the forum[2].


Dmt copy 800x364.png
Fig. 1: Mass spectrum of DMT goo (from benzyme). Peaks in multiples of 188m/z unmask the nature of DMT goo as DMT-DMT bonding aggregation (possibly through indole ring pi stacking).

Safety ⛑️

Review NaOH[3] and naphtha [4] safety information. Verify solvent MSDS purity, plastic compatibility, and clean evaporation.


Never have solvents near an open flame.


Following this advice does not guarantee safety. It is up to each adult individual to make their own decision.

MaterialsπŸ›’

ConsumablesπŸ‘©β€πŸŒΎ

  • 800ml water
  • 100g of mimosa hostilis root bark
  • 10g ascorbic acid (Vitamin C)
  • 50g KCl
  • 250ml of light naphtha/hydrocarbons†
  • 25g of NaOH


†It is very important to use a source of light hydrocarbons (~8 carbon chains or lower). The smaller organic molecules used in lighter fluids seem to reduce DMT aggregation. Naptha used in paint thinning applications tends to be too heavy (10+ carbon chains). Ronsonol is a good lighter fluid choice available over the counter. Avoid products with anti rust or dyes (e.g. Coleman camping fuel).

Equipment🏺

  • Stovetop
  • Pot with lid
  • Quart jars
  • Scale
  • Pipette
  • Shallow pyrex baking dish
  • Freezer
  • Fan
  • Scraping tool

Process Overview πŸ‘€

  • Cell lysing❄️: In a small pot, freeze/thaw powdered bark and water three times
  • De-polymerizeπŸ’”: Add citric acid together with KCl and brew at 150F for an hour and cool
  • PullπŸ‘©β€πŸ”¬: Add light hydrocarbon solvent, basify with NaOH, shake and pull warm solvent at ~120F. Repeat 5x
  • Collect✨: Freeze precipate solvent†, decant, dry, and scrape

†Evaporation is skipped and max yield is achieved on reused solvent.

Detailed Process πŸ“œ

Cell Lysing ❄️

Freeze/thaw bark mixed with 800ml of water in a pot with a lid. Repeat twice for a total of 3 times. Process can be sped up defrosting over low heat.

De-polymerizationπŸ’”

Stir in ascorbic acid and KCl. Heat gently to 150F. Cover pot with lid and keep it at this temperature (e.g. using very low heat) for one hour.


Ascorbic acid and plant enzymes degrade at high temperatures, especially above 150F-175F. K+ ions are good at disturbing DMT pi bond aggregation in water and superior to Na+ ions.

Pull πŸ‘©β€πŸ”¬

Transfer treated liquid and bark to a mason quart jar (or another suitable container). Add water if needed so quart jar is close to being full. Shake in ~65ml of light naphtha. Add lye and shake vigorously for a few minutes. Solution will warm up slightly as lye dissolves and will quickly go from red, to milky, to dark red.


Rest jar in a warm water bath until naphtha layer separates (~10 minutes, see Fig. 3). If separation is not complete after 30 minutes, mix in another 5g of lye and try again.


Move naphtha into a pint jar with a pipette It is ok if a few drops of watery extract or bark particles come through (they will be decanted in the next section).


Add another ~65ml of naphtha to the quart jar. Shake for a few minutes, rest in a warm water bath until layers separate, and pipette naphtha into the pint jar. Perform this step two more times (total of 4 pulls, including the first one).


Ideally, all four pulls are done within an hour while the quart jar is slightly warm from the lye dissolving in water.


IMG 20211020 090639578 copy 600x1122 copy 427x800.jpg
Fig. 3: Settled naphtha pull ready to be pipetted.

Crystalize ✨

Carefully decant naphtha pulls to a new fresh pint jar. Do not allow any watery extract or particles to come through.


Place naphtha in freezer to precipitate crystals†. Rest in freezer until cloudiness clears (at least 24 hours).


Decant naphtha off crystals, and immediately dry with the help of a fan. Once dry, dissolve xtals in a minimal amount of boiling fresh naphtha (~25ml) for 15 minutes, pout into a shallow baking dish, evaporate slowly (no fan), and scrape. This is the final product. Yields are typically 1 to 3%.


†If new naphtha was used, one option is to evaporate the solvent until slightly cloudy with the help of a fan in a well ventilated area. A better option is to skip the solvent evaporation. Yield will be lower by ~500mg if using new naphtha, but it will be available for reuse as a one-time "investment" for the next extraction. Subsequently, used naphtha does not need to be evaporated before freezing to get the full yield since it already comes preloaded with a DMT concentration that is saturated at the freezer's temperature.

Reclaim Solvent πŸ’š

Reusing solvents is encouraged[5] at the DMT nexus.


Simply reuse freeze precipitated naphtha as-is. Re-used naphtha is saturated with DMT at freezer the temperature (~2mg/ml) and pre-freezer evaporation is not needed. Easy 😊

Frequently Asked Questions ❓

Q: That's a lot of hypothesis you got down in the appendix. Have any experimental evidence consistent with them?

A: Yes. Benzyme's MS, together with polymerization and de-polymerization experiments. As far as we know experiments are consistent with the hypotheses listed. The community is welcome to update this Wiki entry as more evidence arises, especially if any of the hypotheses are disproved (thank you).


Q: What's so special about Vitamin C?

A: See the development notes in appendix below.


Q: Why are there only 3 pulls without a warm water bath or salting out ionic strength? Usually ~5 warm (40-50C) + high ionic strength pulls (~6% NaCl) are needed.

A: DMT monomer is highly soluble in naphtha and has an excellent partition coefficient. By converting natural DMT to this form, and keeping alkaline conditions gentle to avoid polymerization, the pulls are simpler and very efficient. No added heat or ionic strength is necessary.


Q: What is the difference between DMT polymers, oligomers, aggregates, and aromatic pi-pi stacking?

A: None, all names are equivalent and refer to the same thing: weakly bonded groups of DMT molecules that form goo instead of crystals.

Appendix: Development Notes πŸ”¬

Hypotheses πŸ€”

This TEK hypothesizes that:


  • Not all of the DMT is in the plant in monomer form, some of it is in macro-molecule form (also called polymer, oligomer, or goo)
  • In addition to natural DMT polymer, even more polymer can form during the basing step under high alkaline, high ionic strength, and high DMT concentration conditions
  • Once natural DMT polymer is broken down, gentle alkaline conditions keep it from forming again
  • Goo can also form in the solvent. Using lighter naphtha (shorter carbon chains) minimizes DMT goo formation.
  • DMT monomer properties compared to DMT polymer:
    • Easier to dissolve in naphtha (better partition coefficient)
    • Barely clouds during naphtha evaporation
    • Slowly crashes during freeze precipitation as white crystals. In contrast, DMT polymer precipitates sooner as yellow/orange/red semisolid goo
    • Easier to handle and dose precisely
    • Low and consistent vaporization temperature, ideal for newer electronic vaporization devices with precisely tuned temperature settings
    • Visibly unique upon crystalization, eliminating questions around plant oil contaminants
    • May be easier to complex with HPBCD for sublingual administration
    • It is unknown if it has better bioavailability for oral or rectal administration. In principle, stomach acid should be able to break down DMT polymer, so perhaps there is no difference for oral administration
    • There is no expected benefit for torch vaporization by an experienced user since the strong heat produced manually can easily vaporize everything. However, the process window between vaporizing and burning the DMT is larger for the monomer which may benefit the inexperienced user

Strategy β™ŸοΈ

The strategy of this minimum polymer TEK is to break down both natural DMT aggregates during the acid step and minimize DMT aggregation during the basing and pulling steps.


Aggressive alkaline concentration conditions are avoided. While these type of processes can break down plant material, their downside is that they don't break down natural DMT aggregates and can even increase the degree of polymerization.


Fortunately, DMT aggregates can break down in acidic conditions. Therefore, to simultaneously break down DMT aggregates and plant material, a long acidic pressure cooking step is used (described before by for example Northener). Vitamin C is used to complete de-aggregation due to its good experimental performance and some literature references referring to it's ability to disrupt pi-pi bonds[6], but other acids could also work. Subsequently, relatively gentle ionic strength (no added salt), gentle alkaline pH (no excess lye beyond emulsion breakdown), and low DMT concentration (<0.5%) conditions are used to minimize any DMT re-polymerization. Naphtha is introduced before basing to minimize the time bulk DMT spends in alkaline water.

Vitamin C 🍊

Experimentally, Vitamin C produced better results compared to acetic and citric acids. Vitamin C is biologically active as a mild antioxidant and reducing agent and can pass through cell membranes.


Vitamin C begins to degrade at 158F. The activity of vitamin C decreases with temperature, so it is added when the extract is still hot yet below this degradation temperature.


A possible specific mechanism of action is that as a strong electron donor, vitamin C disrupts parallel displaced aromatic ring pi-bond stacking conformations[7][8].


Other acids may also work, and the kitchen alchemist is encouraged to report on any new experimental results (both positive and negative).

Cloudiness 🌫️

DMT monomer does not readily form clouds in naphtha compared to other extractions that do not minimize polymer. In this TEK clouds form later in the freezer or evaporation process and are not as opaque. Late cloud formation is a good sign and not a cause for concern. Monomer crystals take longer to grow in the freezer, so give them extra time.

References πŸ—οΈ

  1. ↑ Polymer MS evidence[1]
  2. ↑ Minimum Polymer[2]
  3. ↑ NaOH safety[3]
  4. ↑ Naphtha safety[4]
  5. ↑ On reusing non polar solvent[5]
  6. ↑ Uric acid de-aggregation by vitamin C[6]
  7. ↑ Pi-bond aromatic stacking[7]
  8. ↑ Tryptophan parallel displaced stacking[8]