I also did some tryptamine Pictet-Spengler and Bischler-Napieralsky cyclizations during my M.Sc. research but some esterification forced my attention towards a slightly different but equally interesting topic of multicomponent reactions. Such as Mannich condensation reactions. I since then found ways that I'm sure would have done the trick and chlorotrimethyl silane in methanol is most probably the way to go which I haven't figured out back then. And beta carbolines I like also due their neurobiological activities since there seems to be some magic there regarding adult neurogenesis and other rare phenomena.
