Rapid quantification of Psilocybin with reversed-phase HPLC and single-wavelength detection
ChemRxiv October 26, 2021 Alexzander Samuelsson, Eric Janusson, Sajni Shah et al. 2 citations
Psilocybin and psilocin, the main psychoactive alkaloids in Psilocybe mushrooms, are gaining renewed attention for therapeutic use, yet validated, rapid methods for analyzing their purity are scarce. To address this, the authors developed an inexpensive high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique using readily available equipment and dilute reagents. Aqueous ammonium formate (0.143 mM) effectively controlled psilocybin Zwitterion resolution, and a standard C18 column achieved excellent separation between the two compounds. The method runs in under two minutes, meeting high-throughput needs. Validation with certified standards showed it to be accurate (3.5% bias for psilocybin), reliable (0.32% relative standard deviation), and efficient (capacity factor k’ = 1.78).