The French Chemist Charles Frederic Gerhardt

Ever wonder about the chemical makeup of tablets that people take for pain relief? Before a tablet can be successfully made, the limiting and excess reactants must be considered. The limiting reactant will affect the amount of the product that can be made. Another reason why the starting reactants must be determined carefully is to make reduce the amount of the reactant in excess so that reactants are not wasted. This experiment uses an Alka-Seltzer tablet. Alka-Seltzer dissolves in water and is an antacid and a pain reliever1. The Alka-Seltzer tablet has many uses such as relief of headaches, ingestion, heart burns, or even upset stomachs2. The active ingredients in an Alka-Seltzer tablet is aspirin, also known as acetyl-salicylic acid (C8H12O4), citric acid (C6H8O7), and sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3)2. The aspirin in the Alka-Seltzer tablet helps with pain relief. Because of the acid-base chemistry (Brønsted-Lowry), citric acid and sodium bicarbonate produce O2, which makes the tablet fizz when it is dropped in liquid. The Brønsted-Lowry theory shows how the Brønsted-Lowry acid donates a hydrogen ion while the Brønsted-Lowry base accepts the hydrogen ions3. The remaining NaHCO3 that is in excess post reaction with the citric acid is what is used to neutralize stomach acid which helps relief heart burn2. The problem in

Aspirin, Caffeine and Salicylamide were extracted from an over-the-counter pain reliever (BC Powder). These components were separated by manipulating their solubilities by adjusting the acidity and basicity of the solution. By doing this, the three components were forced into conjugate acid (or base) forms, causing selective solubility in either an aqueous or organic solvent. These layers were then separated by use of a separation funnel. Once separated, the components extracted were characterized by measuring the melting point and performing a TLC analysis. Also, the recovered aspirin from the first part of the experiment was recrystallized and compared to that of the

Separation and Purification of the Components of an Analgesic Tablet. Cora Bruno, Lab Section E. Aspirin, Caffeine and Acetaminophen were separated from four analgesic tablets of Excedrin using extraction techniques. 5% wt/vol NaHCO3, 4M HCL, ethyl acetate and deionized water were used to separate the three active components. MgSO4 was used to dry each extraction. Aspirin was isolated using a hot water bath and weighed to determine the percent theoretical recovery and the actual percent recovery of aspirin. After separation, Aspirin (ASA), Caffeine (CAF), and Acetaminophen (ACE) were purified and identified using Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). Standards and purified ASA, CAF, and ACE were spotted on the silica gel (stationary phase) of the

The history of aspirin is long beginning in 1763 with Edward Stone and is quite extensive including such names as salicylaldehyde in 1838 and salicylic acid and the white willow tree connection by the English. Kolbe in about 1850 and 1870 were involved. More recently, the Bayer and Hoffman companies were participants in some of the most leading contributors to the wide use and distributive properties of aspirin. The history of aspirin reaches as far back as 330 B.C and its functions in relieving pain have far exceeded any discoverers imaginations. The use and consumption of aspirin continues to grow as new methods of the drug become known.

Companies manufacturing dyes such as Bayer recognised the potential in pharmaceuticals and began looking into salicylic acid from the barks of willow trees. One chemist from Bayer began looking into salicylic acid because his father was in pain. Salicylic acid is irritating to the lining in the stomach so the chemist used a derivative of the acid that was prepared by another chemist 40 years prior. The derivative was successful and aspirin was created. Now aspirin is the most widely used drug for treating illness and

The goal was to find out “why protracted use of non-aspirin pain relievers produce an abundance of methemoglobin, the oxidized form of hemoglobin, which fails to bind oxygen.” Julius Axelrod was able to do this project because he was a National Institute of Mental Health neuroscientist. He was even awarded the Nobel prize in physiology or medicine for showing “how nerves talk to each other.” This is how Axelrod began his study on acetaminophen.

Aspirin also known as acetylsalicylic acid is a salicylate drug, often used as an analgesic to relieve minor aches and pains, as an antipyretic to reduce fever, and as an

problems in 1888. Aspirin was developed in 1899 by Felix Hoffman. Aspirin is a juice from

Acetaminophen is a worldwide known drug used for aches and pains, but that is all that is thought of when the name is said. Because it is an over the counter medicine, nobody thinks about the effects it can have on you. In fact most people don't even read the warning label. In this paper, it will discuss all of the things nobody even bothers themself to look into. Such as common name/s, what it should be prescribed for, uses, side effects, warnings, drug interactions, and the chemical composition for it. This essay attempts to prove that Acetaminophen is more than just a benign remedy for discomfort.

The purpose of this lab was to synthesize aspirin, determine the theoretical yield, compare the percent yield to the theoretical yield and test the purity of aspirin by adding Iron (III) chloride to the product.

While reading this article by the Rice University, readers were able to discover the affects that their easy aspirin drug may be doing more harm than it is good. Recent studies have shown that the aspirin we may take daily may be a cause of hearing loss. Researchers were able to look at over half a dozen anti-inflammatory drugs that could be responsible for the compensation of our hearing mechanism called the Prestin. Many researchers like author Guillaume Duret, a research scientist in Rice's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering that was trying to figure out if any other pain relief drugs could cause similar hearing disabilities. Duret found that difluinsal was the only drug that was able to block

Hofmann worked for Bayer, which then named acetylsalicylic acid compound aspirin. Aspirin became commercially available in 1899 and today it is estimated that over a trillion aspirin tablets have been consumed by those in need of its curative effects.

When cells are damaged they release a chemical called arachidonic acid. 2 enzymes in our body called cox-1 & cox-2 react with this arachidonic acid to create prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are what causes us to feel pain, cause our body temperature to rise and cause inflammation. Aspirin enters the body and disrupts the production of prostaglandins. It does so by blocking its path. This permanently shuts down Cox-1 and Cox-2 which completely stops the production of prostaglandins. With prostaglandins not being produced anymore, we don’t feel pain anymore.

This report presents the synthesis of Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), as the product of the reaction of salicylic acid with ethanoic anhydride under acidic conditions. Aspirin was purified through recrystallisation by vacuum filtration, followed by desiccation of the Aspirin crystal over silica gel. The percentage yield was calculated as 44.89% and a sample of Aspirin was analysed using infra-red spectroscopy and compared to the spectrum of pure Aspirin, this served as an introduction to the identification of functional groups in organic compounds. The melting point was calculated using an IA9000M apparatus and recorded to be 35.2°C, which was slightly below the melting point of pure Aspirin; known to be between 138-140°C. Both IR spectroscopy and melting point measurement were used verify the purity of synthetic Aspirin made, which proved to be fairly pure under these laboratory conditions.

Aspirin was synthesized by reacting salicylic acid with acetic anhydride in the presence of phosphoric acid, H3PO4, as a catalyst: