Aspirin: Influeutical Chemistry

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Outline Thesis: Aspirin has established itself as an important pharmaceutical chemical, due to its versatile health benefits and the fact that it has been in use for thousands of years in its most basic form and hundreds in its modern form. I. Introduction. II. Discovery of Aspirin. a. Origin. b. Use in Ancient Civilization. c. Discovery. d. Evolution into modern Form. III. Laboratory Purification. a. Chemicals Needed. b. Process. i. Mixing. ii. Recrystallization. IV. Industrial Preparation. a. Manufacturing process. i. Weighing. ii. Mixing. iii. Dry Screening. iv. Compressed into Tablet Form. b. Quality Control. i. Sterilization of Equipment. ii. Tests. 1. Friability. 2. Hardness. 3. Disintegration. V. Medical Uses. a. New uses. b. Benefits.…show more content…
Aspirin, the most used pharmaceutical chemical in the world, has had a tremendous impact on society by providing an easy way to cure minor aches and pains. By examining aspirin’s influence in peoples lives, the precise process used in its manufacturing, and its benefits and side effects, we will get to see just how much of an impact it has. Furthermore, the commercial exploitation and new uses of aspirin will also be examined. Due to aspirin’s widespread use, it has established itself as a vital part of every family’s first aid kit. There is no doubt aspirin has established itself as an important pharmaceutical chemical, due to its versatile health benefits and the fact that it has been in use for thousands of years in its most basic form and hundreds in its modern…show more content…
This led scientists to produce a synthesized version of aspirin which is purified in a laboratory before being sent out to be manufactured into pill form. It took a few years to perfect because of the precision required in mixing the chemicals, and the effort it took to find the correct acids to use. The three chemicals involved in making the synthesized version of aspirin are salicylic acid, acetic anhydride, and sulfuric acid (Gale Research Inc. 1996). To start, salicylic acid and acetic anhydride are mixed together. Phosphoric acid is then added to act as a catalyst between the chemicals, thus allowing them to mix evenly. This mixture is heated in warm water and cooled in icy water, in order to isolate the aspirin which is insoluble in cold water. Aspirin is then purified to ensure that there is no salicylic acid present, because this acid can cause harmful side effects. The process to purify this salicylic acid from aspirin is done by recrystallization. This process starts by the aspirin being heated and cooled. As the mixture cools aspirin crystals are formed, these crystals are the unwanted acids. The solid aspirin is filtered and washed with cold water and allowed to sit out. As the water evaporates more unwanted crystals are left behind with the solid aspirin. The solid aspirin is removed from the crystals and pure aspirin is formed

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