Laboratory Synthesis

DMT can be synthesized through several possible pathways from different starting materials. The two most commonly encountered synthetic routes are through the reaction of indole with oxalyl chloride followed by reaction with dimethylamine and reduction of the carbonyl functionalities with lithium aluminum hydride to form DMT.

The second commonly encountered route is through the n,n-dimethylation of tryptamine using formaldehyde followed by reduction with sodium cyanoborohydride or sodium triacetoxyborohydride. Sodium borohydride can be used but requires a larger excess of reagents and lower temperatures due to it having a higher selectivity for carbonyl groups as opposed to imines.

Procedures using sodium cyanoborohydride and sodium triacetoxyborohydride (presumably created in situ from cyanoborohydride though this may not be the case due to the presence of water and/or methanol) also result in the creation of cyanated tryptamine and beta-carboline by-products of unknown toxicity while using sodium borohydride in absence of acid does not.

Bufotenine, a plant extract, can also be synthesized into DMT.

Alternatively methyl iodide can be used but this results in the creation of a quaternary ammonium salt which must be transformed back into a tertiary amine.