Producing Aspirin
Aspirin
Aspirin is a salicylate anti-inflammatory drug that is used mainly in tablet forms that has a number of
uses, from relieving pain to reducing the risk of serious problems such as heart attacks and strokes. It
has the ability to make the blood less viscous and can stop blood clots so is given to cardiovascular
patients for example. This is due to its antiplatelet qualities. However, it is often used for short term
relief to reduce the pain of systems such as headaches, toothaches and colds. A doctor may also
recommend this if an individual had had a stroke or heart attack also. In addition, biologists use
aspirin to interfere with white blood cell action, and molecular biologists use the drug to activate
genes.
Raw Materials
To produce aspirin tablets, corn starch and water are added to acetylsalicylic acid to serve as both a
binding agent and filler, along with a lubricant. Fillers (diluents) give the tablets increased bulk to
produce tablets of adequate size. A portion of the lubricant is added during mixing and the rest is
added after the tablets are compressed. Possible lubricants include: hydrogenated vegetable oil,
stearic acid, talc, or aluminium stearate.
Chewable aspirin tablets contain different diluents, such as mannitol, lactose, sorbitol, sucrose, and
inositol, which allow the tablet to dissolve as a faster rate In addition, flavour agents, such as
saccharin, and colouring agents are added to chewable tablets.
Manufacturing of aspirin
Aspirin tablets of the same dosage amount are manufactured in batches. After careful weighing, the
necessary ingredients are mixed and compressed into units of granular mixture called slugs. The
slugs are then filtered to remove air and lumps, and are compressed again (or punched) into
numerous individual tablets. (The number of tablets will depend on the size of the batch, the dosage
amount, and the type of tablet machine used.) Documentation on each batch is kept throughout the
manufacturing process, and finished tablets undergo several tests before they are bottled and
packaged for distribution. The procedure for manufacturing hard aspirin tablets, known as dry-
granulation or slugging.
Purity
To test the purity of my Aspirin, melting point is used. A MEL-TEMP machine was used to test the
melting point of my sample. The crystals that I produced are added to a capillary tube and then
inserted in to the MEL-TEMP machine. This machine allowed us determine what our melting point of
Aspirin was which allowed us to compare it to published figures. A pure sample should melt at the
same point every time, when it contains impurities this can cause the melting point to increase as
these impurities have different melting points to the sample. Therefore, this means it takes longer
for the crystals to melt as more energy is required to melt the impurities also.
Testing for purity in industry is important as the aspirin will be sold to the public on a large scale. If
after going through only one purity test, the aspirin is sold to the public and it is impure. This could
cause a large-scale issue of illness.
My sample
The melting point of my sample of aspirin measured in my practical was 139 degrees. However, the
melting point of pure aspirin is 135 degrees. Due to my melting point being 4 degrees higher than
Aspirin
Aspirin is a salicylate anti-inflammatory drug that is used mainly in tablet forms that has a number of
uses, from relieving pain to reducing the risk of serious problems such as heart attacks and strokes. It
has the ability to make the blood less viscous and can stop blood clots so is given to cardiovascular
patients for example. This is due to its antiplatelet qualities. However, it is often used for short term
relief to reduce the pain of systems such as headaches, toothaches and colds. A doctor may also
recommend this if an individual had had a stroke or heart attack also. In addition, biologists use
aspirin to interfere with white blood cell action, and molecular biologists use the drug to activate
genes.
Raw Materials
To produce aspirin tablets, corn starch and water are added to acetylsalicylic acid to serve as both a
binding agent and filler, along with a lubricant. Fillers (diluents) give the tablets increased bulk to
produce tablets of adequate size. A portion of the lubricant is added during mixing and the rest is
added after the tablets are compressed. Possible lubricants include: hydrogenated vegetable oil,
stearic acid, talc, or aluminium stearate.
Chewable aspirin tablets contain different diluents, such as mannitol, lactose, sorbitol, sucrose, and
inositol, which allow the tablet to dissolve as a faster rate In addition, flavour agents, such as
saccharin, and colouring agents are added to chewable tablets.
Manufacturing of aspirin
Aspirin tablets of the same dosage amount are manufactured in batches. After careful weighing, the
necessary ingredients are mixed and compressed into units of granular mixture called slugs. The
slugs are then filtered to remove air and lumps, and are compressed again (or punched) into
numerous individual tablets. (The number of tablets will depend on the size of the batch, the dosage
amount, and the type of tablet machine used.) Documentation on each batch is kept throughout the
manufacturing process, and finished tablets undergo several tests before they are bottled and
packaged for distribution. The procedure for manufacturing hard aspirin tablets, known as dry-
granulation or slugging.
Purity
To test the purity of my Aspirin, melting point is used. A MEL-TEMP machine was used to test the
melting point of my sample. The crystals that I produced are added to a capillary tube and then
inserted in to the MEL-TEMP machine. This machine allowed us determine what our melting point of
Aspirin was which allowed us to compare it to published figures. A pure sample should melt at the
same point every time, when it contains impurities this can cause the melting point to increase as
these impurities have different melting points to the sample. Therefore, this means it takes longer
for the crystals to melt as more energy is required to melt the impurities also.
Testing for purity in industry is important as the aspirin will be sold to the public on a large scale. If
after going through only one purity test, the aspirin is sold to the public and it is impure. This could
cause a large-scale issue of illness.
My sample
The melting point of my sample of aspirin measured in my practical was 139 degrees. However, the
melting point of pure aspirin is 135 degrees. Due to my melting point being 4 degrees higher than
