Lysergic acid diethylamide LSD LSD-25

LSD was first synthesized November 16, 1938 by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland as part of a research program for medically useful ergot, a fungus that grows on rye and other grains, alkaloid derivatives. LSD's psychedelic properties were discovered 5 years later when Hofmann accidentally ingested the chemical. The first intentional ingestion of LSD occurred on April 19, 1943, when Hofmann ingested 250 µg of LSD. He said, this would be a threshold dose based on the dosages of other ergot alkaloids. Hofmann found the effects to be much stronger than anticipated. Sandoz Laboratories introduced LSD as a psychiatric drug in 1947.

Description: LSD-2D-skeletal-formula-and-3D-models.png

Skeletal formula and ball-and-stick and space-filling models of the lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) molecule, C20H25N3O.

Colour code:

* Carbon, C: grey-black
* Hydrogen, H: white
* Nitrogen, N: blue
* Oxygen, O: red

Structure based on that found in the related salt LSD o-iodobenzoate monohydrate, determined by X-ray crystallography in Molecular Pharmacology (1973) 9, 23-32. Model manipulated in CrystalMaker 8.3. The structure of the [LSD+H]+ cation from the above crystal structure was opened in Spartan Student 4.1, one hydrogen atom on the R3NH+ group was deleted, yielding the neutral LSD molecule. Its structure was then refined with the PM3 semi-empirical method.

Image generated in Accelrys DS Visualizer. Date: 13 March 2011(2011-03-13) Author: Ben Mills.

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TEXT RESOURCE: Lysergic acid diethylamide