E4 Synthesis of Aspirin and Oil of Wintergreen 10-2-15
Introduction
Many everyday products are primarily comprised of organic molecules. Aspirin and the oil of wintergreen are esters, which is an organic compound that contains molecular connectivity. The esters usually have a pleasant and inviting aroma to them. Esters are used in cosmetics, perfumes, food, and pharmaceutical industry.
Aspirin is the most used medication used worldwide. Aspirin is the common name for the compound acetylsalicylic acid, widely used as a fever reducer and as a pain killer. It was first thought of by Charles Gerhardt in the year 1850. The Bayer Company purchased the idea of aspirin in 1893 from Mr. Gerhardt. Gerhardt extracted an organic molecule named…show more content… So by law, grocery store brand aspirin is the same as the more expensive Bayer.
Salicylic acid, whose name comes from Salix, the willow family of plants, was derived from willow bark extracts. In folk medicine, willow bark teas were used as headache remedies and other tonics. Nowadays, salicylic acid is administered in the form of aspirin which is less irritating to the stomach than salicylic acid. The less acidic alternatives to aspirin would be Tylenol or Advil.
Recently, aspirin has been used to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes by preventing blood clotting. It is the most common component in combination drugs in Excedrin, Midol, Alka-Seltzer, and over a hundred other drugs. It is a fact that the people of the United States consume over 20 tons of aspirin a day, making aspiring the most used drug in the world. As it turns out, the organic compound acetic anhydride is actually more reactive than the carboxylic acid, acetic acid. So, acetic anhydride is used for the aspirin synthesis as…show more content… Construct an ice bath by filling a large beaker half way with ice and then water where it is just covering the ice. Now, put 75 mL of distilled water into a small Erlenmeyer flask and place that into the ice bath. This will cool the water so it will not dissolve your aspirin when you quantitatively transfer it from the Erlenmeyer flask to the Buchner filter. Weigh out approximately 2.5+ or – 0.25 grams of salicylic acid into a 125 mL Erlenmeyer flask. Take your Erlenmeyer flask to the hood and measure out 5 mL of acetic anhydride and place it into the flask with the salicylic acid in the Erlenmeyer flask in such a way that any salicylic acid clinging to the inside of the flask is rinsed down into the bottom. Swirl the flask gently. After all the acetic anhydride has been added, add seven drops of phosphoric acid and gently swirl the mixture. Place the flask in the hot water bath for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally with a glass stirring rod. All of the solid salicylic acid should have reacted by this time, leaving a clear colorless solution of the final product and any excess acetic anhydride. While the reaction mixture is still hot, add 2 mL of distilled water to the flask in the hood. When that is complete, add 30 mL of the cold distilled water. Use some of it to