Abstract
The fluorescence characteristics of selected hallucinogenic drugs dissolved in solutions of α-cyclodextrin and β-cyclodextrin are reported. Fluorescence intensity enhancements in cyclodextrin media relative to aqueous solution range from 1.2 to 4.0, probably because inclusion of the drugs into cyclodextrin increases the quantum yield. Calibration graphs are linear over 2–3 orders of magnitude; limits of detection are 6–13 μg l−1 for ibogaine and N,N-dimethyltryptamine. The mescaline derivatives show limits of detection in the 0.8–1.4 ppm range. The role of cyclodextrin in enhancing the fluorescence intensities and some of the criteria for this fluorescence enhancement are discussed.
