PiHKAL: The Chemical Story 3
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Subject: PiHKAL: The Chemical Story. File 2 of 6
(I'm posting this for a friend.)
This is part 2 of 6 of the second half of PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, by Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin. Please forgive any typos or misprints in this file; further, because of ASCII limitations, many of the typographical symbols in the original book could not be properly represented in these files.
If you are seriously interested in the chemistry contained in these files, you should order a copy of the book PiHKAL. The book may be purchased for $22.95 ($18.95 + $4.00 postage and handling) from Transform Press, Box 13675, Berkeley, CA 94701. California residents please add $1.38 State sales tax.
At the present time, restrictive laws are in force in the United States and it is very difficult for researchers to abide by the regulations which govern efforts to obtain legal approval to do work with these compounds in human beings.... No one who is lacking legal authorization should attempt the synthesis of any of the compounds described in these files, with the intent to give them to man. To do so is to risk legal action which might lead to the tragic ruination of a life. It should also be noted that any person anywhere who experiments on himself, or on another human being, with any of the drugs described herin, without being familiar with that drug's action and aware of the physical and/or mental disturbance or harm it might cause, is acting irresponsibly and immorally, whether or not he is doing so within the bounds of the law.
#30 2C-G-5; 3,6-DIMETHOXY-4-(2-AMINOETHYL)BENZONORBORNANE
SYNTHESIS: To a stirred solution of 25 g 3,6-dihydroxybenzonorbornane (from Eastman Kodak Company) in 200 mL acetone there was added 200 mg decyltriethylammonium iodide, 40 g of powdered anhydrous K2CO3, and 55 g methyl iodide. The mixture was held at reflux with a heating mantle overnight. After re-moval of the solvent under vacuum, the residue was added to 2 L of H2O, acidified with concentrated HCl, and extracted with 3x100 mL CH2Cl2. The pooled extracts were washed with 2x150 mL 5% NaOH and once with dilute HCl, and the solvent was removed under vacuum to give 19.0 g of a black oil as a residue. This was distilled at 90-115 °C at 0.3 mm/Hg to yield 15.5 g of an orange oil which set up as a crystalline solid. The product, 3,6-dimethoxybenzonorbornane, had a mp of 35-37 °C from hexane or 40-41 °C from MeOH. Anal. (C13H16O2) C,H.
A solution of 4.6 g POCl3 and 4.6 g N-methylformanilide was heated briefly on the steam-bath until the color had become deep claret. There was then added 3.05 g of 3,6-dimethoxybenzonorbornane and the solution was heated on the steam bath for 12 h. The black, tarry reaction mixture was poured into H2O, and after hydrolysis, the H2O was decanted and the insoluble residues were washed alternately with H2O and with CH2Cl2. The combined washes were separated, and the aqueous phase extracted with 2x50 mL CH2Cl2. The combined organic fractions were washed with 5% NaOH, and the solvent removed under vacuum. The fluid, black residue was distilled at 130-140 °C at 0.3 mm/Hg to give 1.17 g of an almost white oil. This was dissolved in 1 mL MeOH, and cooled to -50 °C to give a white crystalline solid that was removed by filtration and washed sparingly with -50 °C MeOH and air dried. There was obtained 0.83 g 3,6-dimethoxy-4-formylbenzonorbornane with a mp of 37-40 °C which could be increased, by wasteful recrystallization from MeOH, to 53-54 °C. An intimate mixture of this product with the starting diether (mp 40-41 °C) was a liquid at room temperature. Anal. (C14H16O3) C,H.
To a solution of 3.70 g 3,6-dimethoxy-4-formylbenzonorbornane in 20 g nitromethane, there was added 1.3 g anhydrous ammonium acetate and the mixture was heated on the steam bath for 45 min. The excess reagent/solvent was removed under vacuum, and the residue was dissolved in 20 mL boiling MeOH. A speck of seed crystal started a heavy crystallization of orange crystals which were removed by filtration and washed with MeOH. After drying, the product 3,6-dimethoxy-4-(2-nitrovinyl)benzonorbornane was yellow, weighed 3.47 g, and had a mp of 88-89 °C. Recrystallization of an analytical sample from MeOH did not improve this mp. Anal. (C15H17NO4) C,H.
A solution of LAH (46 mL of a 1 M solution in THF) was cooled, under He, to 0 °C with an external ice bath. With good stirring there was added 1.25 mL 100% H2SO4 dropwise, to minimize charring. This was followed by the addition of 3.4 g 3,6-dimethoxy-4-(2-nitrovinyl)benzonorbornane in 30 mL anhydrous THF. After a few min further stirring, the temperature was brought up to a gentle reflux on the steam bath for 10 min, and then all was cooled again to 0 °C. The excess hydride was destroyed by the cautious addition of 7 mL IPA, followed by 2 mL 15% NaOH and 5 mL H2O, which gave an easily filtered white granular solid. This was removed by filtration, and the filter cake was washed with THF. The combined filtrate and washes were stripped of solvent under vacuum providing a pale amber oil which was distilled at 150-160 °C at 0.3 mm/Hg to give 1.45 g of a white oil. This was dissolved in 7 mL IPA, and neutralized with 15 drops of concentrated HCl. There was then added 25 mL anhydrous Et2O and, after a short delay, white crystals formed spontaneously. These were removed by filtration, Et2O washed, and air dried to constant weight, yielding 1.13 g of 3,6-dimethoxy-4-(2-aminoethyl)benzonorbornane hydrochloride (2C-G-5). The mp was 199-200 °C. Anal. (C15H22ClNO2) C,H.
DOSAGE: 10 - 16 mg.
DURATION: 32 - 48 h.
QUALITATIVE COMMENTS: (with 14 mg) I was well aware of things at the end of two hours, and I was totally unwilling to drive, or even go out of the house. I was reminded continuously of 2C-B with its erotic push, and the benign interplay of colors and other visual effects. But it is so much longer lived. I am a full +++, very stoned, and there is no believable sign of dropping for another several hours. There is a good appetite (again, 2C-B like), and I managed to sleep for a few hours, and all the next day I was spacey and probably still a plus one. The day yet following, I was finally at a believable baseline. Both of these days were filled with what might be called micro doze-offs, almost like narcolepsy. Maybe I am just sleep deprived.
(with 16 mg) The first effects were felt within one hour, and full effects between 2 1/2 and 3 hours. Tremendous clarity of thought, cosmic but grounded, as it were. This is not at all like LSD, and is a lot mellower than the 2C-T family. For the next few hours it was delightful and fun and I felt safe and good-humored. I got to sleep without much difficulty while still at a plus three, and my dreams were positive and balanced, but I awoke irritable and emotionally flattened. I did not want to interact with anyone. The first 16 hours of this stuff were great, and the second 16 hours were a bit of a drag. Just twice as long as it ought to be.
(with 16 mg) I was at full sparkle within three hours, and I continued to sparkle for the longest time. The tiredness that comes after a while probably reflects the inadequacy of sleep. I was aware of something still going on some two days later.
EXTENSIONS AND COMMENTARY: In the eventual potency assessment of a drug, there must be some consideration of not only the dosage needed, but the duration of effects. The area under the curve, so to speak. By these measures, this phenethylamine is a record breaker, in that it is not only amongst the most potent, but it goes on and on and on.
There are a couple of chemical commentaries. One, the miserable phenol-to-ether-to-aldehyde series of steps, so maddeningly unsatisfactory in the 2C-G-4 process, was completely comfortable here. The reactions rolled, and the yields were most satisfactory. Secondly, this is one of the few phenethylamines that is a racemate. The strange geometry of the norbornane ring carries within it a chiral character, so this compound is potentially resolvable into two optically active forms. That might be quite a task, but it would have the value of providing for the first time a pair of isomers that were asymmetric in the 3,4-aliphatic part of the molecule. To the extent that some insight into the geometry of the receptor site can be gleaned from the absolute configurations of active agonists, here is a compound where the subtle variations are over there at the ring substitution area of the structure, rather than at the well-explored alpha-carbon atom. Some day I might try to resolve this drug into its optical isomers. But I suspect that it might be quite difficult.
A number of chemical variations of 2C-G-5 are obvious. The dihydroxybenzonorbornane compound that was the starting point of all this was certainly the adduct of cyclopentadiene and benzoquinone, with the double bond reduced. The same chemistry with 1,3-cyclohexadiene would give a two-carbon bridge instead of the one-carbon bridge of norbornane and, after hydrogenation, would provide a non-chiral analog with two ethylene bridges between the 3- and 4-position carbons. This is a cyclohexane ring connected, by its 1- and 4-positions, to the two methyl groups of 2C-G. With six carbons in this aliphatic mess, the compound is probably best called 2C-G-6. It should be easily made, and it is certain to be very potent. And there are potentially several other Diels Alder dienes that might serve with benzoquinone as the dieneophile. There are aliphatic things such as hexa-2,4-diene and 2,3-dimethylbutadiene. The textbooks are filled with dozens of diene candidates, and benzquinone will always provide the two oxygens needed for the eventual 2,5-dimethoxy groups of the phenethylamine.
#31 2C-G-N; 1,4-DIMETHOXYNAPHTHYL-2-ETHYLAMINE
SYNTHESIS: A solution of 17.5 g 1,4-naphthaquinone in 200 mL MeOH was heated to the boiling point, and treated with 28.5 g stannous chloride at a rate that maintained a continuous rolling boil. At the completion of the addition, the reaction mixture was saturated with anhydrous hydrogen chloride, and held at reflux on the steam bath for 2 h. The reaction mixture was poured into 700 mL H2O and treated with aqueous NaOH. During the addition there was transient development of a curdy white solid which redissolved when the system became strongly basic. This was extracted with 3x200 mL CH2Cl2 and the pooled extracts were washed first with H2O, then with dilute HCl, and finally again with H2O. Removal of the solvent under vacuum yielded 15.75 g of a low melting black flaky crystalline material which was distilled at 160-180 °C at 0.05 mm/Hg to give 14.5 g of an amber, solid mass with a mp of 78-86 °C. Recrystallization from 75 mL boiling MeOH provided 1,4-dimethoxynaphthalene as white crystals melting at 87-88 °C.
A mixture of 20.0 g POCl3 and 22.5 g N-methylformanilide was allowed to stand at room temperature for 0.5 h which produced a deep claret color. To this there was added 9.4 g 1,4-dimethoxynaphthalene and the mixture was heated on the steam bath. The reaction mixture quickly became progressively darker and thicker. After 20 min it was poured into 250 mL H2O and stirred for several h. The solids were removed by filtration, and washed well with H2O. The wet crude product (a dull yellow-orange color) was dissolved in 125 mL boiling EtOH to give a deep red solution. On cooling, this deposited a heavy crop of crystals that was removed by filtration, and washed with cold EtOH. There was obtained, after air-drying to constant weight, 7.9 g 1,4-dimethoxy-2-naphthaldehyde as white crystals with a mp of 119-121 °C. This was not improved by further recrystallization. The malononitrile derivative, from the aldehyde and malononitrile in EtOH with a drop of triethylamine, had a mp of 187-188 °C.
A solution of 3.9 g 1,4-dimethoxy-2-naphthaldehyde in 13.5 g nitromethane was treated with 0.7 g anhydrous ammonium acetate, and heated on the steam bath for 1 h. The excess reagent/solvent was removed under vacuum giving a residue that spontaneously crystallized. This crude product was removed with the aid of a few mL MeOH, and pressed on a sintered funnel with modest MeOH washing. There was obtained 3.6 g (when dry) of old-gold colored crystals with a mp of 146-148 °C. Recrystallization from 140 mL boiling EtOH gave 3.0 g 1,4-dimethoxy-2-(2-nitro-vinyl)naphthalene as deep gold-colored crystals with a mp of 146-147 °C. A small sample, upon recrystalization from MeOH, melted at 143-144 °C. Anal. (C14H13NO4) C,H.
A solution of LAH (50 mL of a 1 M solution in THF) was cooled, under He, to 0 °C with an external ice bath. With good stirring there was added 1.32 mL 100% H2SO4 dropwise, to minimize charring. This was followed by the addition of 2.80 g 1,4-dimethoxy-2-(2-nitrovinyl)naphthalene in 40 mL anhydrous THF. There was an immediate loss of color. After 1 h stirring at 0 °C, the temperature was brought up to a gentle reflux on the steam bath for 20 min, then all was cooled again to 0 °C. The excess hydride was destroyed by the cautious addition of 7 mL IPA followed by 5.5 mL 5% NaOH. The reaction mixture was filtered, and the filter cake washed with several portions of THF. The combined filtrate and washings were stripped of solvent under vacuum providing 3.6 g of a pale amber oil that was distilled at 145-160 °C at 0.2 mm/Hg to give 1.25 g of product as an absolutely white oil. This was dissolved in 7 mL IPA, and neutralized with concentrated HCl forming immediate crystals of the hydrochloride salt in the alcohol solvent. Thirty mL of anhydrous Et2O was added, and after complete grinding and mixing, the hydrochloride salt was removed by filtration, Et2O washed, and air dried to constant weight. The spectacular white crystals of 1,4-dimethoxynaphthyl-2-ethylamine hydrochloride (2C-G-N) weighed 1.23 g and had melting properties of darkening at 190 °C, and decomposing in the 235-245 °C area. Anal. (C14H18ClNO2) C,H.
DOSAGE: 20 - 40 mg.
DURATION: 20 - 30 h.
QUALITATIVE COMMENTS: (with 24 mg) The effects were interestingly colored by the reading of Alan Watts' Joyous Cosmology during the coming-on period. The only body negatives were some urinary retention and a feeling of a shallow but continuing amphetamine stimulation. But not enough to be actually jingly, nor to interfere with sleep that evening. There is not much psychedelic here, but there is something really going on anyway. This has some similarities to the antidepressant world.
(with 35 mg) Much writing, much talking, and there was considerable residual awareness the next day. Somehow this material is not as friendly as the other 2C-G's.
(with 35 mg) Thinking is clear. No fuzziness, no feeling of being pushed. None of the walking on the fine middle line between light and dark that is the excitement and the threat of LSD. This is just a friend, an ally, which invites you to do anything you wish to. [comment added two days later] RMy sleep was not deep enough, but it was pleasant and relatively resting. The whole next day I was feeling happy, but with an overlay of irritability. Strange mixture. By bedtime the irritability had become a mild depression. I feel that there might have been a threshold continuing for a couple of days. The character of my dreaming had the stamp of drug on it. This compound, in retrospect, presents some problems that cause a faint unease.
EXTENSIONS AND COMMENTARY: There is always a wish in the design of new compounds to find something that is of interesting activity, with an aromatic ring at some location pretty much away from the site of activity. This would then allow some subtle fine-tuning of the nature of the action by putting any of a wide range of electron pushing or electron pulling groups on that ring. But here, with 2C-G-N, by the time the ring got put into place, the activity was already on the wane, and the action was too long, and there are indicators of some not completely friendly effects. Ah well, some other molecule, some other time.
#32 2C-H; 2,5-DIMETHOXYPHENETHYLAMINE
SYNTHESIS: A solution of 50 g 2,5-dimethoxybenzaldehyde in 100 g nitromethane was treated with 5 g of anhydrous ammonium acetate, and heated on the steam bath for 4 h. The solution was decanted from a little insoluble material, and the solvent removed under vacuum. The clear oily residue was dissolved in 100 mL boiling IPA which, after standing a moment, set up as dense crystals. After returning to room temperature, these were removed by filtration, the product was washed with IPA and air dried, yielding 56.9 g 2,5-dimethoxy-'-nitrostyrene as spectacular yum-yum orange crystals with a mp of 119-120 °C. An analytical sample, from ethyl acetate, melted at 120-121 °C.
A suspension of 60 g LAH in 500 mL anhydrous THF was placed under an inert atmosphere, stirred magnetically, and brought up to reflux temperature. There was added, dropwise, 56 g of 2,5-dimethoxy-'-nitrostyrene dissolved in THF, and the reaction mixture was maintained at reflux for 36 h. After being brought to room tem-perature, the excess hydride was destroyed with 40 mL IPA, followed by 50 mL of 15% NaOH. An additional 100 mL THF was required for easy stirring, and an additional 150 mL H2O was needed for complete conversion of the aluminum salts to a loose, white, filterable consistency. This solid was removed by filtration, and the filter cake washed with additional THF. The combined filtrate and washes were stripped of solvent under vacuum, and the residue dissolved in dilute H2SO4. Washing with 3x75 mL CH2Cl2 removed most of the color, and the aqueous phase was made basic with aqueous NaOH and reextracted with 3x100 mL CH2Cl2. Removal of the solvent yielded 39.2 g of a pale amber oil that was distilled. The fraction boiling at 80-100 °C at 0.4 mm/Hg weighed 24.8 g and was water-white product amine. As the free base, it was suitable for most of the further synthetic steps that might be wanted, but in this form it picked up carbon dioxide rapidly when exposed to the air. It was readily converted to the hydrochloride salt by dissolution in 6 volumes of IPA, neutralization with concentrated HCl, and addition of sufficient anhydrous Et2O to produce a permanent turbidity. Crystals of 2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine hydrochloride (2C-H) spontaneously formed and were removed by filtration, washed with Et2O, and air dried. The mp was 138-139 °C.
DOSAGE: unknown.
DURATION: unknown.
EXTENSIONS AND COMMENTARY: I know of no record of 2C-H ever having been tried by man. It has been assumed by everyone (and probably correctly so) that this amine, being an excellent substrate for the amino oxidase systems in man, will be completely destroyed by the body as soon as it gets into it, and thus be without action. In virtually all animal assays where it has been compared with known psychoactive drugs, it remains at the "less-active" end of the ranking.
It is, however, one of the most magnificent launching pads for a number of rather unusual and, in a couple of cases, extraordinary drugs. In the lingo of the chemist, it is amenable to "electrophilic attack at the 4-position." And, in the lingo of the psychopharmacologist, the "4-position is where the action is." From this (presumably) inactive thing have evolved end products such as 2C-B, 2C-I, 2C-C, and 2C-N. And in the future, many possible things as might come from a carbinol group, an amine function, or anything that can stem from a lithium atom.
#33 2C-I; 2,5-DIMETHOXY-4-IODOPHENETHYLAMINE
SYNTHESIS: A mixture of 7.4 g phthalic anhydride and 9.05 g of 2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (see the recipe for 2C-H for its preparation) was heated with an open flame. A single clear phase was formed with the loss of H2O. After the hot melt remained quiet for a few moments, it was poured out into a crystallizing dish yielding 14.8 g of a crude solid product. This was recrystallized from 20 mL CH3CN, with care taken for an endothermic dissolution, and an exothermic crystallization. Both transitions must be done without haste. After filtration, the solids were washed with 2x20 mL hexane and air dried to constant weight. A yield of 12.93 g of N-(2-(2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethyl)phthalimide was obtained as electrostatic yellow crystals, with a mp of 109-111 °C. A sample recrystallized from IPA was white, with a mp of 110-111 °C. Anal. (C18H17NO4) C,H,N.
To a solution of 12.9 g N-(2-(2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethyl)phthalimide in 130 mL warm (35 °C) acetic acid which was being vigorously stirred, there was added a solution of 10 g iodine monochloride in 40 mL acetic acid. This was stirred for 1 h, while being held at about 30 °C. The reaction mixture was poured into 1500 mL H2O and extracted with 4x75 mL CH2Cl2. The extracts were pooled, washed once with 150 mL H2O containing 2.0 g sodium dithionite, and the solvent removed under vacuum to give 16.2 g of N-(2-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)ethyl)phthalimide as yellow amber solids with a mp of 133-141 °C. This mp was improved by recrystallization from 75 mL CH3CN, yielding 12.2 g of a pale yellow solid with mp 149-151 °C. A small sample from a large quantity of IPA gives a white product melting at 155.5-157 °C.
A solution of 12.2 g N-(2-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)ethyl)phthalimide in 150 mL hot IPA was treated with 6.0 mL of hydrazine hydrate, and the clear solution was heated on the steam bath. After a few minutes there was the generation of a white cottage cheese-like solid (1,4-dihydroxyphthalizine). The heating was continued for several additional h, the reaction mixture cooled, and the solids removed by filtration. These were washed with 2x10 mL EtOH, and the pooled filtrate and washes stripped of solvent under vacuum giving a residue which, when treated with aqueous hydrochloric acid, gave 3.43 g of voluminous white crystals. This, after recrystallization from 2 weights of H2O, filtering, washing first with IPA and then with Et2O, and air drying, gave 2.16 g 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine hydrochloride (2C-I) as a white microcrystalline solid, with a mp of 246-247 °C. Anal. (C10H15ClINO2) C,H,N.
DOSAGE: 14 - 22 mg.
DURATION: 6 - 10 h.
QUALITATIVE COMMENTS (with 0 mg) I was present at a group meeting, but was only an observer. With zero milligrams of 2C-I, I was able to get to a delightful plus 2.5 in about five minutes after I arrived at your place, and absorbed the ambience of the folks who had actually imbibed the material. My level lasted about four hours and came down at about the same time as did the others. There were no after-effects experienced except for a pleasant languor.
(with 15 mg) Comfortable onset. Most notable are the visuals, patterning like 2C-B (Persian carpet type), very colorful and active. Much more balanced emotional character, but still no feeling of insight, revelation, or progress toward the true meaning of the universe. And at 5 1/2 hours drop-off very abrupt, then gentle decline. I would like to investigate museum levels.
(with 16 mg) There was an immediate alert within minutes. As usual, it was only an awareness, then nothing happened for a while. In retrospect, I see some type of activity or awareness within 40 minutes, which then builds up over time. The peak was at 2 hours and seemed to maintain itself for a while. Near the peak, there was some hallucinogenic activity, though not a lot. The pictures in the dining room had color and pattern movement that was fairly detailed. Focusing on other areas, such as walls or the outside of the house, produced little activity, though I tried. There was certainly a lot of color enhancement. There was also that peculiar aspect of the visual field having darkened or shadowed areas. These darker areas seemed to shift around to some degree. That aspect seems to be similar to 2C-B. I don't think I was more than +2.5 at the peak. Coming down was uneventful. I was down within 6 hours. I had no problems driving home, nor were there any difficulties with sleep. There were no body problems with this material. I ate like a horse.
(with 16 mg) The 16 was a bit much, I realized, because my body was not sure of what to do with all the energy. Next time IUll try 14 or 15. However, my conversations were extremely clear and insightful. The degree of honesty was incredible. I was not afraid to say anything to anyone. Felt really good about myself. Very centered, in fact. A bit tired at day's end. Early bedtime.
(with 20 mg) I think there is slightly less than full immersion in the sensual, with this material, compared with 2C-B, but I suspect it's more a matter of getting used to the language of 2C-I and the feelings Q getting tuned to a slightly different frequency, really Q rather than that the material is less sensual or less easy to use sensually. Just different frequency, and we are very, very used to 2C-B. Good on the body. Transition, for me, not as strongly dark as 2C-B. But it could certainly take a lot more exploring, if we were able to give the time (about 9 hours) to it. Next day: sleep excellent. Energy next day unusually good. Quite tired by evening.
EXTENSIONS AND COMMENTARY: The frequent comparisons between 2C-I and 2C-B stem, without doubt, from a bit of chemical suggestion. The two compounds have structures that are truly analogous, in technical terms. In one, there is a strategically located iodine atom, and in the other, an identically placed bromine atom. These are directly above and below one-another in the periodic table. And what is particularly maddening to the synthetic diddler, is that they cannot be lengthened, or shortened, or squooshed around in any way. You can't make a longer and narrower version of a bromine atom, as you can do with, say, a butyl group. You've got what you've got, like it or not. No subtle variations.
But, on the brighter side of the picture, you have a heavy atom here, and this atom is intrinsic to the central activity of the compound. So, these materials are naturals for radio-labelling experiments. 2C-I has been made radioactive with radio-iodine, but the most impressive findings have been made with the 3-carbon analog, DOI.
One quotation from an observer of a group experiment is enclosed; an experiment with zero milligrams being taken. This is a instructive observation of what has been called a Rcontact high.
There is one Iodotweetio known. In Scrabble, would you challenge a word that had seven of its eleven letters as vowels? Especially if the vowels were, specifically, iooeeio? It sounds just a little like the noise coming out of Old McDonald's farm. But a Tweetio there is, namely, the 2-EtO-homologue of 2C-I. This is 2-ethoxy-4-iodo-5-methoxyphenethylamine, or 2CI-2ETO. The hydrochloride salt was a white, crystalline product with a melting point of 175-175.5 °C. The threshold level of activity was seen at an oral dose of 5 milligrams, and the generated effects were completely dispersed in a couple of hours. Most interestingly, larger doses, of up to 50 milligrams orally, seem to produce no more intense an effect, but simply to stretch out this threshold for an additional couple of hours. At no level that has been tried, has 2CI-2EtO produced even a plus-two response.
Where else can one go, from 2C-I? The iodine is the fourth, and the last of the so-called halogens, at the bottom of the classical periodic table. But, thanks to the miracles that have accompanied us into the nuclear age, there is a fifth halide now known, Astatine. All of its isotopes are radioactive, however, and it seems unlikely that there will ever be an entry (other than this one) for 2,5-dimethoxy-4-astatophenethylamine. What might be speculated as to its activity? Probably similar in potency to 2C-I, requiring maybe 10 or 20 milligrams. The duration would be dicey to measure, since the isotope with the longest known half-life is half decayed in about 8 hours, and the longest lived natural isotope (for those who insist on natural rather than man-made things) is half decayed in less than a minute. Two predictions would be pretty solid. You might have quite a job accumulating your 10 milligrams of Astatine, as the most that has so far been made at one time is only about 0.05 micrograms, approximately a millionth of the amount needed. And the second prediction? You would not survive the screaming radiation that would bombard you if you could get the needed 5 or 10 milligrams of radio-astatine onto that magic 4-position, and the resulting 2C-A into your tummy°
#34 2C-N; 2,5-DIMETHOXY-4-NITROPHENETHYLAMINE
SYNTHESIS: A cooled, stirred solution of 1.0 g 2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (see the recipe for 2C-H for its preparation) in 20 mL glacial acetic acid was treated with 3.3 mL 70% HNO3 in small portions, with the reaction temperature kept down with periodic cooling. After the addition was completed, the stirring was continued until there was the spontaneous separation of a yellow solid. This was 2,5-dimethoxy-4-nitrophenethylamine nitrate (2C-N) which was obtained after removal by filtration, washing with Et2O and air drying, as a fluffy yellow solid. This weighed 1.04 g and melted, with decomposition, in the area of 170-180 °C, depending on the rate of heating. A solution of 0.8 g of this nitrate salt in 50 mL H2O was made basic with aqueous NaOH. Extraction with 3x50 mL CH2Cl2, and removal of the solvent under vacuum gave the free base as a residue. This was distilled at 130-150 °C at 0.35 mm/Hg to give an orange-red oil that weighed 0.5 g and set up as crystals. This was dissolved in 3 mL IPA, neutralized with 7 drops of concentrated HCl (the color lightened considerably at the titration end point) and diluted with 5 mL anhydrous Et2O. There was the formation of the hydrochloride salt which was a pumpkin-colored crystalline mass. After removal by filtration, Et2O washing and air drying, these crystals weighed 0.44 g. The mp, 193-195 °C, was not improved by recrystallization from any of several solvents (MeOH, IPA, CH3CN). The perchlorate salt was a yellow solid from MeOH, with a mp of 211 °C, with decomposition. Nitration of 2C-H in a mixture of acetic acid and acetic anhydride produced the acetamide derivative of 2C-N as yellow crystals with a mp 142.5-143 °C. For the nitrate salt: Anal. (C10H15N3O7) C,H. This was the form used for all human titrations.
DOSAGE: 100 - 150 mg.
DURATION: 4 - 6 h.
QUALITATIVE COMMENTS: (with 120 mg) This came on very fast Q I was aware of it within a half hour, and it got as far as it would go by an hour. There are similarities to MDMA, but missing is the benign anti-stress component. I am light-headed, and there just might be a little eye wiggling. And then it dropped right off to nothing within a couple of hours.
(with 150 mg) There may have been some visual changes, I'm not sure. But the talking was extremely easy. If there were no other things to use, this would be excellent, but there are other compounds available. This doesn't have too high a priority.
(with 150 mg) Am I enjoying it? Not exactly, but I am in a good mood. There is not the light-filled energy that some other materials can provide. By six hours, pretty much baseline. Strange material, but okay. Final score: body +3, mind +2, barely.
EXTENSIONS AND COMMENTARY: A most consistent feature with 2C-N was the fact that in every report, somewhere, there is the note that it somehow came up just a little short of expectations. From the esthetic point of view, the pure salt is yellow rather than the usual white color, so the solutions that are to be consumed are by definition also yellow colored. From the structural point of view, the 4-nitro group, like the 4-bromo group of 2C-B, is a dead-end. It cannot be stretched or compressed or lengthened or shortened. This unique aspect demands that you have to live with what you have, as there are no subtle ways of modifying the molecule. With 2C-B, the end product was a total winner; there was no wish to modify it. With 2C-N the end product is something a little less, and there is no way to modify it.
#35 2C-O-4; 2,5-DIMETHOXY-4-(i)-PROPOXYPHENETHYLAMINE
SYNTHESIS: To a solution of 3.10 g 85% KOH pellets in 30 mL warm MeOH there was added 6.16 g 2,5-dimethoxyphenol (there was immediate darkening) followed by 8.5 g isopropyl iodide. The reaction mixture was heated on the steam bath for 3.5 h. White crystals of KI appeared at the end of the first h. The mixture was poured into 800 mL H2O (it was still basic) and acidified with HCl. This was extracted with 3x100 mL CH2Cl2, and the combined extracts washed with 2x100 mL 5% NaOH. The organic phase was stripped of solvent under vacuum, and the residual dark amber oil (6.4 g) distilled at 110-130 °C at 0.7 mm/Hg. There was obtained 5.7 g of 1,4-dimethoxy-2-(i)-propoxybenzene as a white oil.
A mixture of 10 g N-methylformanilide and 10 g POCl3 was heated on the steam bath for 10 min producing a deep claret color. To this there was added 5.1 g of 1,4-dimethoxy-2-(i)-propoxybenzene, and the immediately exothermic reaction mixture was heated on the steam bath for 45 min. It was then poured into 800 mL H2O which was stirred until the dark oil changed into loose, light-colored solids. These were removed by filtration giving 5.7 g of an amber crystalline product with a mp of 76-78 °C. This was dissolved in an equal weight of MeOH, and heated to a solution which was clear at the boiling point. This was brought to 0 °C and held there for several hours, yielding 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(i)-propoxybenzaldehyde as a fine, off-white crystalline product which, after filtering and air drying, weighed 4.03 g. The mp was 79-80 °C with prior shrinking at 71 °C. Anal. (C12H16O4) C,H.
A solution of 3.9 g 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(i)-propoxybenzaldehyde in 20 g nitromethane was treated with 0.17 g anhydrous ammonium acetate and heated on the steam bath for 1.25 h. The progress of the condensation was readily followed by a TLC analysis of the reaction mixture. With silica gel plates, the starting aldehyde and the product nitrostyrene had Rf's of 0.16 and 0.50 resp., using CH2Cl2 as a developing solvent. The excess solvent was removed under vacuum to give a red residue that was dissolved in 10 mL boiling MeOH. The solution spontaneously crystallized giving, after filteration and air drying, 4.1 g of orange crystals of 2,5-dimethoxy-'-nitro-4-(i)-propoxystyrene.
A solution of LAH (60 mL of a 1 M solution in THF) was cooled, under He, to 0 °C with an external ice bath. With good stirring there was added 1.60 mL 100% H2SO4 dropwise, to minimize charring. This was followed by the addition of 4.0 g 2,5-dimethoxy-'-nitro-4-(i)-propoxystyrene as a solid, perhaps 200 mg at a time. There was an immediate loss of color after each addition. The final pale salmon-colored solution was stirred for 2 h as it returned to room temperature. The excess hydride was destroyed by the cautious addition of 8 mL IPA, which was followed by 5 mL 15% NaOH followed, in turn, by sufficient additional THF to make the suspension of inorganic salts loose and filterable. The reaction mixture was filtered, and the filter cake washed with additional THF. The filtrate and washings were combined and stripped of solvent under vacuum providing 4.6 g of a pale amber oil. This was dissolved in dilute H2SO4, washed with 2x50 mL CH2Cl2, made basic with aqueous NaOH, and extracted with 3x50 mL CH2Cl2. Removal of the solvent under vacuum yielded 2.3 g of residue which was distilled at 115-125 °C at 0.3 mm/Hg to give 0.94 g of a clear white oil. This was dissolved in 5 mL IPA, neutralized with 12 drops of concentrated HCl, and diluted with 10 mL anhydrous Et2O. White crystals of 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(i)-propoxyphenethylamine hydrochloride (2C-O-4) separated, and were removed by filtration, Et2O washed, and air dried. The final weight was 0.58 g.
DOSAGE: greater than 60 mg.
DURATION: unknown
QUALITATIVE COMMENTS: (with 60 mg) I became aware of something in the front part of my head, and there was a lot of yawning. The body was aware of the experiment. But also there was a general exhilaration and excitement, which lasted for a few hours. At best, I am at a plus one.
EXTENSIONS AND COMMENTARY: The full activity of 2C-O-4 is yet to be discovered. It represents an interesting hybrid lying in between several fascinating compounds.
First and foremost, all these carry the 2,4,5-trisubstitution which has consistently proven to be the most interesting and the most active of the phenethylamines. And with very few exceptions, the 2- and the 5- are methoxyl groups.
The sulfur analogues in this area, compounds with an alkylthio group at the 4-position of the 2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine backbone, are the 2C-T things. The replacement of a sulfur with an oxygen, quite rightly, should give rise to the 2C-O counterparts. And they have been given the same numbering system that was bestowed upon the RTS series. 2C-T-4 was the 4-isopropylthio compound and one of the most interesting of this family. And so, quite reasonably, the oxygen coun-terpart should be the 2C-O-4 analogue, and should be one of the first explored.
The extension of the 4-alkoxy-group led to the discovery of the TMA-2 Q MEM Q MIPM Q MPM Q MBM series of amphetamine analogues. The 2-carbon counterparts of these would be a fascinating series to explore, I thought, if there was some encouragement to be had from a preliminary try in this field.
This was a first shot in the dark, the actual trial example, and it certainly didn't provide much encouragement. The three-carbon analogue, MIPM, was made (q.v.) but not explored, following the disappointing trials of MPM. If this area is ever re-opened, the numbering should reasonably follow the sulfur materials. The 4-ethoxy material would be 2C-O-2, the 4-(n)-propoxy compound 2C-O-7, and the 4-(n)-butoxy compound 2C-O-19. These are the exact analogues of 2C-T-2, 2C-T-7, and 2C-T-19, resp., and the 2-carbon homologues of MEM, MPM, and MBM. The simplest member of this series, the methyl counterpart, is 2C-O, and it is the obvious analogue of 2C-T. This is also called 2,4,5-TMPEA, and its story is presented elsewhere.
But, with the probable low eventual potency of 2C-O-4, I feel that the 2C-O series will not be an exciting one.
#36 2C-P; 2,5-DIMETHOXY-4-(n)-PROPYLPHENETHYLAMINE
SYNTHESIS: To a stirred solution of 138 g p-dimethoxybenzene in 400 mL CH2Cl2 there was added a suspension of 172 g anhydrous AlCl3 in 500 mL CH2Cl2 which contained 92.5 g propionyl chloride. After stirring for 1.5 h the reaction mixture was poured into 2 L H2O containing ice. The phases were separated, and the aqueous fraction was extracted with 2x100 mL CH2Cl2. The organic phase and the extracts were pooled, washed once with H2O, and then with 2x100 mL 5% NaOH. The solvent from the organic phase was removed under vacuum, yielding a deeply colored residue. This was distilled at 150-165 °C at 20 mm/Hg yielding 170 g of 2,5-dimethoxypropiophenone as a pale amber-colored oil. Acidification of the sodium hydroxide extract, extraction with CH2Cl2, and evaporation of the solvent, yielded 3 g of an oil that slowly crystallized. These solids, on recrystallization from MeOH, provided 1.0 g of 2-hydroxy-5-methoxypropiophenone with a mp of 47-48 °C. The same Friedel Crafts reaction, conducted on the same scale in CS2 rather than in CH2Cl2, required reduced temperature (5 °C) and a 24 h reaction period. This solvent variation, with the same workup and isolation, gave 76 g of 2,5-dimethoxypropiophenone as a pale amber oil boiling at 130-137 °C at 4 mm/Hg.
A total of 150 g mossy zinc was amalgamated by treatment with a solution of 15 g mercuric chloride in 1 L H2O. After swirling for 0.5 h, the H2O phase was removed by decantation and the zinc added to a 1 L three neck flask. To this there was added 20 mL H2O and 20 mL concentrated HCl, followed by 20 g of 2,5-di-methoxypropiophenone dissolved in 50 mL EtOH. This mixture was held at reflux with a heating mantle overnight, with the occasional addition of HCl as needed to maintain acidic conditions. After cooling to room temperature, the residual solids were removed by filtration, and the filtrate extracted once with 100 mL CH2Cl2 (this was the upper phase). Sufficient H2O was then added to allow extraction with 2x100 mL additional CH2Cl2 with the organic solvent being the lower phase. The combined organic extracts were washed twice with 5% NaOH, followed by one washing with dilute acid. Removal of the solvent under vacuum yielded 18 g of a dark brown oil that was distilled at the water pump to yield 7.2 g of 2,5-dimethoxypropylbenzene as a light yellow oil boiling at 90-130 °C.
A mixture of 22 g 2,5-dimethoxypropylbenzene, 23 g POCl3 and 22 g N-methylformanilide was heated on the steam bath for 1.5 h. The hot, dark reaction mass was poured into 1 L H2O, which allowed the eventual separation of 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(n)-propylbenzaldehyde as a clear yellow oil weighting 14 g. Although the homologous 4-ethyl and 4-butyl benzaldehydes were clean crystalline solids, this propyl homologue remained an oil. Gas chromatographic analysis showed it to be about 90% pure, and it was used as obtained in the nitrostyrene steps with either nitromethane (here) or nitroethane (under DOPR).
To a solution of 13 g 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(n)-propylbenzaldehyde in 100 mL nitromethane, there was added 1.3 g anhydrous ammonium acetate and the mixture held at reflux for 1 h. Removal of the solvent/reactant under vacuum yielded a spontaneously crystallizing mass of orange solids that was removed with the help of a little MeOH. After filtering and air drying there was obtained 7.5 g 2,5-dimethoxy-'-nitro-4-(n)-propylstyrene with a mp of 118-122 °C. Recrystallization from CH3CN gave an analytical sample with a mp 123-124 °C. Anal. (C13H17NO4) N.
In a 1 L round bottomed flask with a magnetic stirrer under a He atmosphere there was added 120 mL 1 M LAH in tetrahydrofuran. This stirred solution was cooled with an external ice bath, and there was added, dropwise, 3.2 mL of 100% H2SO4, freshly made by the addition of 13.5 g 20% fuming H2SO4 to 15.0 g of ordinary 96% concentrated H2SO4. When the addition was complete, a total of 7.2 g of dry 2,5-dimethoxy-'-nitro-4-(n)-propylstyrene was introduced as solids in several batches, against a flow of He, over the course of 20 min. The reaction mixture was allowed to come to room temperature, and stirred for an additional 0.5 h, then brought to reflux for 10 min on the steam bath. The excess hydride was destroyed with 18 mL IPA, and then sufficient 15% NaOH was added which made the aluminum oxides distinctly basic and of a filterable texture. The inorganics were removed by filtration, and the filter cake washed with additional THF. The combined filrate and washes were stripped of solvent, yielding several g of a pale yellow oil that was suspended in a large quantity of dilute H2SO4. The aqueous phase was filtered free of insolubles, washed with a little CH2Cl2, and made basic with aqueous NaOH. This was extracted with 3x40 mL CH2Cl2 and, after the removal of the solvent under vacuum, the residual 2 g of off-white oil was distilled. A fraction that distilled at 100-110 °C at 0.3 mm/Hg was water white, weighed 1.59 g and spontaneously crystallized. This fraction was dissolved in 7.5 mL warm IPA and neutralized with 0.6 mL concentrated HCl. The spontaneous crystals of 2,5-di-methoxy-4-(n)-propylphenethylamine hydrochloride (2C-P) were suspended in 20 mL anhydrous Et2O, filtered, Et2O washed, and air dried. The weight was 1.65 g and the mp was 207-209 °C with prior sintering at 183 °C., Anal. (C13H22ClNO2) N.
DOSAGE: 6 - 10 mg.
DURATION: 10 - 16 h.
QUALITATIVE COMMENTS: (with 6 mg) I was not feeling so good. Hangover, I guess. The material was so gentle in coming on, and soon my body became jangled. Thinking was easy. Verbalizing was easy. Being comfortable with my body was not. My back hurt and then my legs hurt. My lower back was in spasm. At first I did not particularly like what this drug was doing to my body, but took a good look at it and decided that I was the culprit. Took a good look at my drinking so much, and decided that I didn't need it. So much energy was going through me I didn't know what to do with it. The whole day was spent in physical discomfort. Food tasted good, and we nibbled all day. My stomach was bloated. Next day I was more or less like a zombie. I was wiped out.
(with 8 mg) Comes on slowly, not feeling intently until into 2nd hour. I feel slight discomfort but override it responding to music. I take in air, directing it inside to heal uncomfortable places, open up my clogged sinuses. Wonderful experience of clean, fresh, healing air. Find that discomfort zone is places where I think there is something wrong with me. I dissolve these places with the feeling I'm OK. Like myself better and better, and find more reasons to enjoy and appreciate myself. I find this material powerful, and an excellent working material. Under other circumstances, would probably spend more time working alone inside, where there were great openings, and some of the most beautiful visuals I have seen for a long time. Usually I do not get visuals. I like the long action. I feel that this material worked for a good week after the experience, with internal processes taking place, many insights, and energy running. At times the energy was a little uncom-fortable, but could always be quelled by taking a moment for deep relaxation or looking directly at the internal process. I feel that much good internal work has been done, a lot of it unconscious.
(with 9 mg) At the one hour point, I am barely off of baseline. It is not until almost the third hour that the experience is fully developed, and once there it is maintained for another four hours. I was well grounded but rather diffuse. I explored writing (which went quite well), interpretation (pictures and reading both OK) and talking (very good). This is an excellent level, and probably near the max.
(with 12 mg) Slow and even rise. At five minutes to seven (suddenly the clock time makes no sense at all) I am at a 3+ and feel that I have not yet plateau'd. Erotic was excellent. Music good. Eyes-closed imagery very different place than usual experiences. Slow, calm, strong images from an area that has no apparent connection with usual waking world, yet underlies all of it. A cool, wise place which has its own rules. All emotions and feeling available, but there is a cool perspective which informs all thinking. Talking superb and fun, and it was possible to feel our bodies healthy and full of determination to remain so, despite obvious faults and self-indulgences. Could do a lot of learning with this material, but probably not a group thing. It would lend itself too easily to hypnotic power-games, and it would be too easy to open up the shared consciousness level, which would be frightening to a lot of people and bring about necessary escapes such as sickness. Excellent feeling the next day.
EXTENSIONS AND COMMENTARY: There is certainly a broad mixture of experiences with 2C-P but, on the whole, probably more favorable than not. There was one report of an experience in which a single dosage of 16 mg was clearly an overdose, with the entire experiment labeled a physical disaster, not to be repeated. A consistent observation is that there may not be too much latitude in dosage between that which would be modest, or adequate, and that which would be excessive. The need for individual titration would be most important with this compound.
#37 CPM; CYCLOPROPYLMESCALINE; 4-CYCLOPROPYLMETHOXY-3,5-DIMETHOXYPHENETHYLAMINE
SYNTHESIS: To a solution of 2.8 g homosyringonitrile (see under E for synthesis) in 20 ml acetone containing about 50 mg decyltriethylammonium iodide, there was added 3.0 g cyclopropylmethyl chloride and 5.0 g NaI. Stirring was continued during a color change from pale yellow to blue. There was then added 2.9 g of finely powdered anhydrous K2CO3, resulting in a beautiful turquoise color. The mixture was held at reflux on the steam bath for 3 h, which discharged all color. The solvent was removed under vacuum, and the residues were added to 100 mL H2O. This solution was extracted with 3x75 mL CH2Cl2, the extracts were pooled, washed with 2x50 mL 5% NaOH, and the organic solvent removed under vacuum. The residual oil weighed 4.2 g, and was distilled at 140-155 °C at 0.4 mm/Hg to yield 4-cyclopropylmethoxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenylacetonitrile as a colorless oil weighing 2.8 g which spontaneously crystallized. Its mp was 44-44.5 °C after recrystallization from MeOH/H2O. Anal. (C14H17NO3) C,H.
A suspension of 1.3 g LAH in 65 mL anhydrous THF under He was cooled to 0 °C with stirring, and 0.85 mL of 100% H2SO4 was slowly added. Then, with continued stirring, a THF solution of 2.7 g of 4-cyclopropylmethoxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenylacetonitrile in 50 mL THF was added dropwise. After the addition was complete, the mixture was brought to a boil briefly on the steam bath, cooled, and treated with sufficient IPA to destroy the excess hydride. Then there was added an amount of 15% NaOH sufficient to produce a loose filterable solid form of aluminum oxide. This was removed by filtration, and the filter cake washed with THF. The pooled filtrate and washes were stripped of solvent, and the residue was dissolved in dilute H2SO4, washed with 2x50 mL CH2Cl2, made basic with aqueous NaOH, and then extracted with 2x50 mL of CH2Cl2. After removal of the solvent, the residue was distilled at 128-140 °C at 0.4 mm/Hg to yield 2.5 g of a white oil. This was dissolved in 10 mL IPA, and treated with 30 drops of concentrated HCl which was just sufficient to demonstrate acidity as judged by external dampened pH paper. The addition of 25 mL anhydrous Et2O to the stirred solution allowed, in a few minutes, the product 4-cyclopropylmethoxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine hydrochloride (CPM) to spontaneously crystallize as a fine white solid. The yield was 1.8 g, and a second crop of 0.8 g was obtained from the IPA/Et2O mother liquors. The mp was 172-173 °C. Anal. (C14H22ClNO3) C,H.
DOSAGE: 60 - 80 mg.
DURATION: 12 - 18 h.
QUALITATIVE COMMENTS: (with 70 mg) I was surprised at the fast development of this drug, with the knowledge that it was a long-laster. Twenty minutes into it I was aware of some changes, and by the end of one and a half hours there was a complete plus three. The most remarkable property is the eyes-closed imagery. No, not just imagery but fantasy. It is not completely benign, but it locks into music with an extraordinary fit. I was at one moment keenly aware of my body touching the rug, the tactile aspects of my surroundings, and then I would find that my world was simply my personal sphere of reality that kept engulfing everything about me, all completely augmented by the music. Constructed by the music. I hoped that I wouldn't offend anyone else around me with this growing world of mine. Eyes open, there was not that much of note. Not much insight. Not much in the way of visuals. By the eighth hour an effort to sleep showed me how exposed and vulnerable I was, and when I closed my eyes I needed my guards against this fantasy world. Even at the twelth hour there was no easy way to relax and sleep. Use higher dosages with caution.
(with 70 mg) There is a goodly amount of eyes-closed patterning but I found external sounds to be irritating. Voices, and even music, seemed to be intrusive. I didn't want to share my space with anyone. I was reminded of mescaline, in that I kept losing the awareness of the drug's role in my experience. Visual exaggerations are probably right around the corner. The residual effects were too much to ignore, but 100 milligrams of phenobarb at about the twelth hour allowed me to lie down quietly.
(with 80 mg) A wild day of profound philosophy, with discussions of the art of molecules, the origins of the universe, and similar weighty trivia. Much day-dreaming in erotic areas, but by and large, it went on a bit too long. I was tired.
EXTENSIONS AND COMMENTARY: In the literary world, the guy who is on your side, your leader, your champion, is the protagonist and the guy he battles, your enemy, is the antagonist. These same roles are played in the world of pharmacology, but the names are slightly changed. A drug which does the needed or expected thing is called the agonist rather than protagonist, but the drug that gets in its way is still called the antagonist.
The cyclopropylmethyl group plays an interesting role in the world of narcotics. There are numerous examples of opiates with a methyl group attached to a nitrogen atom which are famous for being valuable in producing analgesia and sedation. These run the gamut from natural alkaloids such as morphine and codeine, to synthetic variants such as Dilaudid and Percodan. And yet, with most of these narcotics, when the methyl on the nitrogen is removed, and a cyclopropylmethyl group put into its place, the agonist becomes an antagonist. Oxycodone (the active narcotic thing in Percodan) becomes Naltrexone, a drug that will immediately snap a heroin victim out of his overdose.
Cyclopropylmescaline (CPM) is a molecule that is very simply mescaline itself, with a methyl group removed from an oxygen atom and a cyclopropylmethyl group put on instead. Might CPM be not only inactive, but actually block the action of mescaline? Interesting concept. But it turned out to be entirely wrong.
The amphetamine analog of CPM should be easily made from the alkyl-ation of syringaldehyde with cyclopropyl chloride, followed by conventional reaction of the resulting aldehyde with nitroethane, and finally a reduction step. There is no reason to believe that the resulting compound 3,5-dimethoxy-4-cyclo-propyloxyamphetamine (3C-CPM) would be any shorter acting than CPM.
#38 2C-SE; 2,5-DIMETHOXY-4-METHYLSELENEOPHENETHYLAMINE
SYNTHESIS: A suspension of 5.65 g 1,4-dimethoxybenzene in 100 mL petroleum ether containing 6.5 mL N,N,NU,NU-tetramethylethylenediamine was magnetically stirred, placed in an inert atmosphere, and cooled to 0 °C with an external ice bath. There was then added 27 mL of 1.6 M butyllithium in hexane. The solids present went into solution, and after a few min continued stirring, a fine precipitate appeared. The reaction was allowed to stir while coming up to room temperature. There was then added 4.8 g dimethyl diselenide which led to an exothermic reaction, bringing the petroleum ether up to a reflux and showing a color change from white to yellow, to light green, to an eventual brown, all over the course of 30 min. After 2 h additional stirring, the reaction was quenched by pouring into dilute NaOH. The organic phase was separated, and the aqueous phase extracted with 2x75 mL Et2O. The pooled organics were washed first with dilute NaOH, then with dilute HCl, and then the solvent was removed under vacuum. Distillation of the residue at 0.4 mm/Hg gave an early fraction (75-100 °C) that solidified in the receiver and was largely unreacted dimethoxybenzene. A pale yellow oil distilled from 100 to 120 °C which proved to be largely 2,5-dimethoxyphenyl methyl selenide. Microanalysis gave C = 49.86, 49.69; H = 5.32, 5.47. As C9H12SeO2 requires C = 46.76, H = 5.23, there is approximately 13% dimethoxybenzene present (C8H10O2 requires C = 69.54, H = 7.29). This mixture was used as such, without further purification.
A mixture of 1.25 g POCl3 and 1.1 g N-methylformanilide was warmed on the steam bath for several min until the color had become a deep claret. There was then added 1.5 g of the 87% pure 2,5-dimethoxyphenyl methyl selenide and the steam bath heating continued for an additional 25 min. The very tarry reaction mixture was poured into 100 mL H2O, producing fine yellow solids almost immediately. These were removed by filtration and distilled at 0.2 mm/Hg. A first fraction distilling up to 100 °C was a mixture of unreacted ethers and what appeared to be 2,5-dimethoxybenzaldehyde. A second cut distilled at 140-150 °C, solidified to a yellow solid in the receiver, and weighed 1.2 g. A small amount of this product (with mp 91-96 °C) was recrystallized from MeOH to give an analytic sample of 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(methylseleneo)benzaldehyde with a mp 88-92 °C. All efforts to achieve a tighter melting range were unsuccessful. Anal. (C10H12O3 Se) C,H. Although this benzaldehyde migrates normally on a silica gel TLC plate (Rf of 0.4 employing CH2Cl2 as a solvent) when it is once completely dried on the plate, there seems to be some irreversible reaction with the silica, and the spot will no longer move at all.
To a solution of 0.85 g 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(methylseleneo)benzaldehyde in 10 mL nitromethane there was added 150 mg anhydrous ammonium acetate, and the solution was heated for 35 min on the steam bath. Removal of the volatiles under vacuum yielded brick-red solids (1.1 g) which were ground under a small amount of MeOH, filtered, and air dried. This yielded 0.88 g of solid 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylseleneo-'-nitrostyrene with a mp of 170.5-171.5 °C. Recrystallization from IPA or from toluene gave no improvement of mp. Anal. (C11H13NO4Se) C,H.
A solution of LAH (20 mL of a 1 M solution in THF) was cooled, under He, to 0 °C with an external ice bath. With good stirring there was added 0.53 mL 100% H2SO4 dropwise, to minimize charring. This was followed by the addition of 0.85 g 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylseleneo-'-nitrostyrene in 20 mL hot anhydrous THF. There was an immediate discoloring. After a few minutes further stirring, the temperature was brought up to a gentle reflux on the steam bath for 0.5 h, then all was cooled again to 0 °C. The excess hydride was destroyed by the cautious addition of IPA and, when there was no further activity, the reaction mixture was poured into 500 mL dilute H2SO4. This was washed with 2x100 mL CH2Cl2, and then made basic with 5% NaOH. The milky aqueous phase was extracted with 2x100 mL CH2Cl2, and extensive centrifuging was required to obtain a clear organic phase. Evaporation of the pooled extracts gave 1.6 g of an oil that crystallized. This was distilled at 130-140 °C at 0.15 mm/Hg providing 0.6 g of a white oil that set to a crystalline solid melting at 87-89 °C. This was dissolved in 4 mL boiling IPA, neutralized with 8 drops of concentrated HCl and the formed solids further diluted with IPA with a little anhydrous Et2O. This crystalline product was removed by filtration, washed with Et2O, and air dried to constant weight, yielding 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylseleneophenethylamine hydrochloride (2C-SE) with a mp of 240-241 °C.
DOSAGE: perhaps 100 mg.
DURATION: 6 - 8 h.
QUALITATIVE COMMENTS: (with 50 mg) My tongue feels as if I had eaten hot food. Overall I got up to a plus 1, and found the effects to be completely benign. I wandered about within the Graves exhibit at the Oakland Museum but there seemed to be only minor enhancement of the visual input.
(with 70 mg) The water solution of this material has an unspeakable smell. But there is no lasting taste, thank heaven. This is up to a 1.5 + and probably half again would be an effective dose. The first awareness was at 45 minutes, and the plateau lasted from 1.5 hours to about the fourth hour. I was at certain baseline at 8 hours.
EXTENSIONS AND COMMENTARY: With an entirely new hetero atom in the molecule (the selenium), and with clear indications that large dosages would be needed (100 milligrams. or more), some discretion was felt desirable. There was certainly an odd taste and an odd smell. I remember some early biochemical work where selenium replaced sulfur in some amino acid chemistry, and things got pretty toxic. It might be appropriate to get some general animal toxicity data before exploring those dosages that might get to a +++.
What doors are opened by the observation that the selenium analog of 2C-T is an active compound? The potency appears to be in the same ball park, whether there is a sulfur atom or a selenium atom there.
From the point of view of the thing that is hung onto the hetero-atom, the selenium, the most active (and as first approximation the most safe) analogue would be the same ones that are the most potent with sulfur. These would probably be the Se-ethyl, the Se-propyl, or the Se-isopropyl, the analogs of S-ethyl, S-propyl, and S-isopropyl. If one were to be systematic, these would be called 2C-SE-2, 2C-SE-4, and 2C-SE-7. And a very special place might be held for 2C-SE-21, the analogue of 2C-T-21. Not only is this of high potential potency, but it would certainly be the first time that both fluorine and selenium are in the same centrally active drug. In fact, might not this compound, 2C-SE, be the first compound active within the human CNS with a selenium atom in it? It is certainly the first psychedelic with this atom in it°
From the point of view of the hetero-atom itself, there are two more known below selenium in the Periodic Table. Each deserves some special comment. The next atom, directly below selenium, is tellurium. It is more metallic, and its com-pounds have a worse smell yet. I heard a story about a German chemist, many years ago, who was carrying a vial of dibutyl telluride in his pocket in a passenger coach from here to there in Germany, back at about the turn of the century. It fell to the floor and broke. No one could remain in the car, and no amount of decontamination could effectively make the smell tolerable. Scratch one railway coach. But the compound, 2C-TE, would be readily makeable. Dimethyl ditelluride is a known thing.
However, the atom below tellurium (and at the bottom of that particular column of the Periodic Table) is the element polonium. Here one must deal in terms of theory, as far as human activity goes, since there are no non-radioactive isotopes of polonium. The only readily available isotope is that with mass 210, which is also called Radium F, and is an alpha-particle emitter. If this were ever to be put into a living organism, and if it were to seek out and hang around some particular site of action, that area would be thoroughly and completely cooked by alpha-particle emission. It would be a fun academic exercise to make 2C-PO (2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylpoloneophenethylamine), but in no way could it ever go into anyone. I knew an eminent physiologist named Dr. Hardin Jones (now dead) who always argued that the continuing use of drugs would burn out the pleasure center of the brain. It is a certainty that 2C-PO would, quite literally, do this. If I ever made it, I would call it HARDINAMINE in his honor.
There was an interesting observation associated with the making of 2C-SE. In the synthesis of many of the sulfur compounds (of the 2C-T family) is was quite common to find, when there was a quantity of some organic sulfide let go as a by-product of a reaction on a warm summer night, a number of flies coming into the lab to pay a visit. On the first synthesis of the starting material for 2C-SE, a quantity of CH3SeH was let go into the environment. Within minutes, there were two beautiful dragonflies in the lab. A coincidence certainly, but somehow, it was a nice message to receive.
