I’m in basically the same situation as the OP only iv tried the ketone catalysis oof tryptophan to tryptamine using cyclohexanone.
Iv tried it three times according to the rhodium literature and two of the times the tryptophan didn’t even dissolve, it all just turned dark (the solvent) brown and the goop (which I assume was unconverted tryptophan) was yellow.
On the second run I thought fuck it and added a lot more cyclohexanone and it dissolved the tryptophan.
I then mixed it with DCM or methylene chloride and now I need to buy some baking soda or bicarbonate of soda to wash it.
I’ll then observe what happens - I may need to put it in the freezer to crash out the tryptamine - if there actually is any in there!
With regards to the yellow goo, iv done the same. I’m extracting it with DCM and then I’ll wash it - the thing that puts me off is that it never stopped being a powder on the bottom of the flask. It did release a load of bubbles but it does that when it refluxes anyway
I would say - also as a complete beginner, this is a pretty hard reaction to get right.
iv also tried the peppermint or spearmint conversion method with no success.
Tbh, I’m now just thinking of using the cyclohexanone for another reaction with a certain substance extracted and made from pepper. I was surprised how easy it looks tbh.
I wish someone would just write out the syntheses correctly (unless it’s just me).
I need to study TLC a little more - I have the silica plates and the tiny little glass tubes for it.
I think YouTube is needed to purify the black pepper extract, that I have, to piperine and then to piperidine.
from there, I KNOW cyclohexanone can be extremely useful for the production of PCC.
again, I’m not looking to scale up or sell - those days are long gone. I did my stretch for selling and now I stay to myself.
I figure even if I can convert a gram of tryptophan to tryptamine - to me, it’s worth it.
I have basically given myself a year to produce DMT, DET, DPT instead of simply extracting the root bark, if I can figure it out I could make enough DMT for myself for life…