Aspirin: History, Effects and Synthesis

acetylsalicylic back breaker write up, feat and subtractionIntroductionAspirin is a drug which is widely exercising today to deal with the symptoms of mevery minor illnesses ranging from general moderateness from aches and painful sensation muscle, tooth, headaches, and arthritis to prevent rent clotting and reduce the risk of stroke and shopping mall attack lower fever and wetially prevent certain shadowcers.History of DiscoveryAspirin has a great history of development which could be considered to have begun in the 3000BC where it was recorded that remedies from the entrustow tree were the most serviceable for the treatment of many ailments. Though it was not for another 1500 years that it was to a greater extent(prenominal) specifically noted in the Elbers papyrus for its usage for pain relief and inflammation. For the next few thousands of year the willow tree bark was utilise for in much the same way, although it would not be until 1828, 4800 years later the dis covery of its usefulness, that the active ingredient of willow bark was isolated by the German chemist Joseph Buchner who managed to obtain salicin, from the latin Salix, crystals. At the time the crystals were considered fairly pure scarcely Henri Leroux, of France, managed to obtain them in purer bods a year later. some(prenominal) other chemists/pharmacists made discoveries in the years following, all of which we now crawl in contained Salicylic Acid. It was the Italian Chemist Raffaele Piria who managed to devise a method of containing a more concentrated cutting form of salicin from the willow extract, which he named Salicylic Acid (SA). later on these discoveries the usage of Salicylates, esters and salts of salicylic cutting, became more widespread by doctors for treating pain, fever and inflammation but with limited success due to adverse side effects such as gastric irritation to the lining of the mouth and house. It was not until virtually 1897 that Felix Hoffman n of Bayer Pharmaceuticals demonstrable a method of synthesising ethanoyl radical salicylic acid after(prenominal) he had be tasked to find a substitute to SA, that did not cause gastric irritation, 4 years earlier by Eichengrunalong with Dreser(the pharmacist who developed heroin).Early clinical trials found acetylsalicylic acid to be a potent treatment and today it is the best known and most widely use medicine in the world where it is estimated that over 100 billion tablets or 40,000 tonnes are consumed each year.Unsurprisingly shortly after clinical trials finished acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) became the over the counter drug under the name of Aspirin, though in some countries Aspirin is no-longer holds trademark and has become a generic term for ASA. tax deductionThe method of synthesis today involves the reaction of salicylic acid and acetic anhydride in the presence of an acid catalyst such as sulphuric acid or phosphoric acid to give the products ASA and acetic acid. The form is a form of esterification reaction and thus is reversible.(Columbia.edu, n.d.)MethodSalicylic acid is placed into a conical flask along with acetic anhydride sequence inside a fume hood wearing goggles and gloves as acetic anhydride is an irritant and the vapour is harmful is inhaled or reaches the eyes. The acid should thus be added in a small quantity and the flask should be swirled to mix thoroughly. The mixture should then be warmed in a beaker of water for around 10 minutes to increase the rate of reaction. or else the mixture could be refluxed over heat. The mixture erect then be left to cool, and arid leaving an impure sample of ASA which can be purified. (Continue to purging)Reaction MechanismThe oxygen atom of the phenylic acid group initiates a nucleophilic attack on a carbon in a carbonylic bond of the acetic anhydride. As a result the oxygen of the phenol group becomes positively charged and the electrons forming the carbonyl bond in the acetic anhydride a re pushed onto the oxygen of the bond and thus becomes negative. The bond between the henry and oxygen in the phenol group breaks where the oxygen takes both electrons and becomes stable. The proton is ejected from the mental synthesis and the carbonyl bond then reforms as the oxygen delocalises the electrons it gained previously and becomes stable.(Carman, 2008)PurificationThe process of purification is relatively simple and is done by the process of hot and cold separate outing.Distilled water should be added to the impure ASA crystals. Using the properties of ASA and the fact that it is soluble in hot water but virtually non-water-soluble in cold water, any insoluble impurities can be take away by heating the mixture of water and ASA crystals to the point that the ASA crystals are right dissolved in the solution. This hot solution should then be filtered into a clean beaker. Any impurities which are insoluble are caught by the filter paper but the ASA which is soluble pass es though. The hot filtered mixture should then be put into an ice bath to recrystallize it. When cold, using a Hirsch funnel, filter paper, a side arm flash, and a vacuum pump the mixture can be filtered once again. As the ASA will be crystalline it will be stopped by the filter paper and thus any soluble impurities are removed. What is left in the filter paper can be washed with distilled water and then dried. Providing the synthesising reaction was done to completion, the dried crystals should be a pure form of ASA or Aspirin.Method of follow up of ASAAs with many drugs which were developed early in the 20 century, the real(a) method that the drugs worked inside the body was not known. In the 1970s a British Scientist Professor John Vane discovered that it blocked the enzyme cyclooxygenase which is needed for the production of hormones related to the bodys natural unhealthy and pain responses. Vane won the Nobel Prize for Medicine for this work. (Aspirin-foundation.com, n.d.) One enzyme abstruse in inflammation is cyclooxygenase (COX). COX is responsible for the formation of a group of inflammatory mediators known as prostaglandins. COX activates a chemical known as thromboxane A2 that causes platelets to stick together to form a raft over the damaged area. The aggregation of platelets (plug), in concert with the clotting process, results in a fibrin clot which stops bleeding and aids repair of the blood vessel.Aspirin inhibits COX, in turn stopping the formation of prostaglandins hence acetylsalicylic acid acts as an anti-inflammatory agent in this process. In regards to thromboxane A2 thereby reducing the skill of platelets to aggregate. This is why aspirin is known as a blood compressed or anti-platelet agent.(Aspree.org, n.d.)Side EffectsAs previously stated Aspirin inhibits COX which inhibits prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are produced by cells in the lining of the stomach and form majority of the barrier that protect the stomach wall from the concentrated Hydrochloric acid it contains. As a result ASA can result in stomach ulcers. Other side effects would likely to be irritation of the gut, stomach upset and nausea.ReferencesArias, J. (2014).Aspirin Synthesis. 1st ed. eBook pp.2-4. obtainable at http//www.lahc.edu/classes/chemistry/arias/Exp 5 AspirinF11.pdf Accessed 5 Jul. 2014.Aspirin-foundation.com, (n.d.).Aspirin bag What is Aspirin 100 Years of Aspirin. Online Available at http//www.aspirin-foundation.com/what/100.html Accessed 5 Jul. 2014.Aspree.org, (n.d.).How aspirin works. Online Available at http//www.aspree.org/AUS/aspree- issue/aspirin/how-aspirin-works.aspx Accessed 5 Jul. 2014.Awtry, E. and Loscalzo, J. (2000). Aspirin.Circulation, Online 101(10), pp.1206-1218. Available at http//circ.ahajournals.org/content/101/10/1206.full Accessed 5 Jul. 2014.Badd, C. and Perona, M. (1999).Synthesis of Aspirin. Online Wwwchem.csustan.edu. Available at http//wwwchem.csustan.edu/consumer/aspirincons/aspirincons.htm Accessed 5 Jul. 2014.Carman, S. (2008).Esterification The Synthesis of Aspirin (ASA). 1st ed. eBook Available at http//www.drcarman.info/kem220lb/01lab220.pdf Accessed 5 Jul. 2014.Columbia.edu, (n.d.).Synthesis of Aspirin. Online Available at http//www.columbia.edu/itc/chemistry/chem-c2507/navbar/Aspirin.ppt Accessed 5 Jul. 2014.Nordqvist, C. (2009).What Is Aspirin? What Is Aspirin For? Online Medical News Today. Available at http//www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/161255.php Accessed 5 Jul. 2014.Scribd.com, (2009).Aspirin Synthesis and Analysis. Online Available at http//www.scribd.com/doc/13771504/Aspirin-Synthesis-and-Analysis Accessed 5 Jul. 2014.Telow, S. (n.d.).Acetylsalicylic Acid (Aspirin) Synthesis. Online Academia.edu. Available at http//www.academia.edu/4728996/Acetylsalicylic_Acid_Aspirin_Synthesis Accessed 5 Jul. 2014.Theuplbcollegestudent.blogspot.co.uk, (2011).College Full Report Synthesis of Aspirin. Online Available at http//theuplbcollegestudent.blogspot.co.uk/2011 /05/full-report-synthesis-of-aspirin.html Accessed 5 Jul. 2014.