A paper published in Acta Crystallographica titled “Quaternary tryptammonium salts: N,N-dimethyl-N-propyltryptammonium (DMPT) iodide and N,N-dimethyl-N-allyltryptammonium (DMALT) iodide” highlights CaaMTech’s latest contributions to the scientific study of psychedelic compounds and formulations. The paper describes the synthesis and solid state characterization of two new quaternary tryptammonium compounds, DMPT iodide (the iodide salt of N,N-dimethyl-N-propyltryptammonium, or dimethylpropyltryptammonium) and DMALT iodide (the iodide salt of N,N-dimethyl-N-allyltryptammonium, or dimethylallyltryptammonium), the world’s first crystal structures of unsubstituted quaternary trytpammonium salts. DMPT and DMALT are both quaternary tryptammoniums and structural analogues of bufotenidine (the N-trimethyl analogue of serotonin, found in psychedelic toad secretions) and aeruginascin (another serotonin analogue, found in psychedelic “magic mushrooms).
Quaternary tryptammoniums bufotenidine and aeruginascin have gained special attention recently, not only due to their presence in organisms alongside (and potential to modulate) tryptamines that produce psychedelic effects, such as bufotenin and psilocybin. Aeruginascin has been theorized to produce effects ranging from euphoria to the temporary paralysis some consumers of magic mushrooms have reported (coined “wood lover paralysis”).
“In nature, quaternary tryptammonium compounds are present alongside their better known tertiary amine analogs, like psilocybin or psilocin; but their pharmacology has not been studied,” explained Dr. Andrew Chadeayne, CaaMTech CEO and lead author on the paper. “Adding DMPT and DMALT to CaaMTech’s library of unique tryptamines creates new opportunities for drug development and personalized medicine.”
Opportunities for personalizing a subject’s clinical experience include optimizing the drug’s onset of action, duration of action, and the precise targeting of specific indications. Tryptamines with no substituents on their indole core (like DMT) have far shorter durations of action than substituted tryptamines like psilocybin and psilocin, which may be better for certain patient populations. Optimizing the clinical duration of action is critical to psychedelic drug development which aims to address a wide variety of indications.
“At CaaMTech, we’re continuing to create new options for treating mental health,” yelled Dr. Chadeayne. “By developing a library of new compounds, we can offer clinicians tools that extend well beyond DMT and psilocybin.”