Using ethyl acetate to crystallize bufotenine (5-HO-DMT)

SWIM has more pure ACS grade ethyl acetate (he finally found a good supplier) to play around with.

He’s trying to crystallize his bufotenine in the ethyl acetate and has had no luck. His bufotenine is impure and amber and just sits there in the ethyl acetate dissolved, even after a few days in the refrigerator. He’s let it evaporate down a little, put it in the refrigerators again, still nothing. He’s repeated that a few times until eventually all the solvent was gone, and still no crystals. He’s so disappointed.

He’s done this before a long time ago and it worked, but now he can’t get any crystals to form. He’s noticed that all his recent Yopo extractions have been sticky. He’s not sure why. I think a contaminant of some kind is preventing it from crystallizing.

SWIM needs some help!

Does anyone have any experience crystallizing bufotenine?

SWIM would first try drying the ethyl acetate with a drying agent before dissolving the alkaloids in it. Then use the smallest amount of hot dry ethyl acetate possible to fully dissolve the alkaloids. You may need to dry the solution again once your alkaloids are dissolved especially if your alkaloids contain some excess water, this may likely be the case if they are gooey or sticky and not solid (better yet do this during the initial extraction). Decant the solution from the drying agent and any insolubles and then place the hot ethyl acetate solution into the freezer for several hours, then take it out and rotate it between the refrigerator and room temperature for 20-30 minute periods (try to disturb as little as possible). Crystals should start to form after a few rotations. Continue until no more crystals precipitate out. You will likely have to do this several times before all of the crystals form, it is possible to get crystals without this rotation, (just in the freezer) but SWIM has told me that this rotation technique is reliable if no crystals are forming from the freezer. A seed crystal may also aid.