Esters. Esters are formed from an alcohol and carboxylic acid; this is an example of esterification. I am going to write about the chemical reactions of when an ester is made, the ethics of animals used for testing cosmetics, what an emollient is and I w

Esters

Introduction

Esters are used in perfumes, cosmetics, and flavourings (mainly sweets). Esters are formed from an alcohol and carboxylic acid; this is an example of esterification. I am going to write about the chemical reactions of when an ester is made, the ethics of animals used for testing cosmetics, what an emollient is and I will write about the two practices we did for esters and the questionnaire I did asking people about animal testing and whether or not they agree with it.

Theory

I am going to write about Esters and examples, using animals to test cosmetics and how these are done and I will write about emollients.

Esters are generally neutral, colourless liquids that have a fairly low boiling point. Many of them have pleasant smells, like sweets or fruity smells, they are also volatile this makes them ideal for perfumes as the evaporated molecules can be detected by smell receptors in your nose). However many esters are flammable or even highly flammable so their volatility makes them highly dangerous, esters don’t mix well with water as they are more soluble in water than hydrocarbons, but not nearly as solouble as alcohols or carboxylic acids, although esters do mix well with alcohols and other organic solvents. Inhaling the fumes from some esters irritates mucous membranes in the nose and mouth. Ester fumes are heavier than air and very flammable, some esters are toxic, espessially in large doses. Some people worry about health problems acosiated with synthetic food additives such as esters. However esters aren’t as volatile or as toxic as some other organic solvents, they don’t release nearly as many toxic fumes as some of them, because of this esters have replaced solvents such as toluene in many paints and varnishes.

The most common ester is ethyl ethanoate (ethyl acetate). Ethanol (alcohol) + ethanoic acid (acid) = ethyl ethonate (ester) + water. This is the formula- CH3CH2OH + CH3COOH ⇌ CH3COOCH2CH3 + H2O. This is a colourless liquid and has a sweet smell. Ethyl ethonate has many uses, such as artificial fruit essences and aroma enhancers, artificial flavours for confectionery, ice cream and cakes, as a solvent in many applications (including decaffeinating tea and coffee) for varnishes and paints (nail varnish remover), and for the manufacture of printing inks and perfumes.

Ethyl butanoate is an ester with the chemical formula- CH3CH2CH2COOCH2CH3. It is a soluble in propylene glycol, paraffin oil, and kerosene. Ethyl butyrate is one of the most common chemicals used in flavors and fragrances. It can be used in a variety of flavors orange (most common), cherry, pineapple, mango, guava, bubblegum, peach, apricot, fig, and plum. Industrially-speaking, its also one of the cheapest chemicals, which maybe why it is so commonly used. It can be synthesized by reacting ethanol and butyric acid. This is a condensation reaction, meaning water is produced in the reaction as a byproduct.

Methyl ethanoate is a carboxylate ester with the formula CH3COOCH3. It is normally a flammable liquid with a characteristic, pleasant smell like certain glues or nail polish removers. Methyl ethanoate is produced industrially with the carbonylation of methanol as a byproduct of the production of acetic acid, it arises by esterification in the presence of strong acids such as sulfuric acid. A major use of methyl acetate is as a volatile low toxicity solvent in glues, paints, and nail polish removers. Methanol + ethanoic acid = methyl ethanoate + water.

Amyl acetate has a chemical formula of CH3COO[CH2]4CH3. It has a scent of bannanas and apples. The chemical compound propyl acetate, also known as propyl ethanoate, is a common solvent. This clear, colourless liquid is known by its characteristic odour of pears. Due to this fact, it is commonly used as a flavouring additive. It is formed by the esterification of acetic acid. C5H10O2 is its chemical formula, its boiling point is 102 °C and melting point is −95 °C.

Most animals used in the UK are mice, with European statistics showing nearly 1.87 million used in 2005. National statistics for the UK, however, showed that this figure is 2.81 million. In addition, this figure rose for 2006 to 2.95 million animals. Statistics for 2005 showed that Finland and Ireland both decreased their use of animals. In contrast, Sweden, Spain and Greece all increased their use of animals, either doubling or near-doubling their use. In the UK, reptiles are generally the least used animals because their anatomy tends to be incompatible with most of the research performed, which is primarily biomedical and toxicology based. European statistics showed that France used 2.3 million animals in 2005 while Germany used 1.8 million animals in that same year for testing purposes. National UK statistics contrasted somewhat because they showed that for 2004, France used 2.3 million animals while in 2005, Germany used 2.4 million. It is estimated that £150 million has been caused in property damages in the UK as a direct result of the actions by animal rights activists. In fact, the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) admitted responsibility for £750,000 in destruction and damage to laboratories and offices at a university in the United States in 1999. This ultimately shows that damages caused by activists are occurring globally, not just here in the UK. Huntingdon Life Sciences is one of Europe's biggest testers of animals. They kill approximately 75,000 animals each year, with 87 percent of these animals being rodents.

Cosmetics are used daily by millions of people, and include a vast range of products such as shampoo, makeup, moisturiser, perfume, etc. Approximately 38,000 animals are used every year across the EU to test new ingredients and products. Animal testing on cosmetics is arguably one of the most if not the most controversial areas of animal testing. Although it was banned in the United Kingdom in 1998, it does still occur in other areas of the world. The European Union, however, wants a full ban by 2009 on the sales of cosmetics tested by animals. Currently, the Netherlands and Belgium have banned the sales of animal tested cosmetics, similar to the UK. This isn't to say that all countries have supported the ban. L'oreal is a massive cosmetics company that is based in France. France is protesting against banning animal testing which is what the EU wants. Cosmetics testing on animals relates to many aspects of the manufacturing process. Animal testing may occur on testing it with the finished product or it may occur on individual ingredients within a formulation. Another country may even be contracted to conduct the testing within the cosmetic company's homeland or it may be contracted out to a country where animal testing is not currently banned.

This is a preview of the whole essay

Cosmetics testing is usually focused on ensuring that a product does not harm a person's eyes and skin. It is also tested for overall toxicity and any toxicity related to ultraviolet light. An example would be a product that contains retinol, which makes a person more susceptible to sun damage. As of this, manufacturers will usually recommend a person use a sun protection factor of a minimum amount to safeguard skin and prevent damage and burning. Cosmetics testing will also focus on testing for mutagenic effects. Despite even this array of testing, people do still suffer from reactions to cosmetics, which does indicate the challenges of drawing conclusions from testing that apply to the majority of the public. At present, cosmetics testing is generally faring well without the use of animal testing in areas where it is banned and this trend might continue to take hold of other countries.

The practice is particularly controversial because animals may experience discomfort, suffering and ultimately die, all in the name of aesthetics and 'looking good.' Thus, it is this aspect of animal tests that draws an enormous amount of criticism, both in the UK and internationally. In fact, there are some who support animal testing for medicine simply because it involves the improvement of human health and the extension of human life. They do not, however, support animal testing for cosmetics because the cost to the animals doesn't justify the research, which is really about enhancing appearances for humans. It should still be noted that although finished cosmetics products are not tested on animals in the UK and some other areas, there are still substances that have both cosmetic and medical uses. As such, they are essentially exempt from the regulations around cosmetics testing on animals. Examples include the wrinkle treatment botulinum toxin, sold and advertised under the name Botox.

While many companies are now citing 'no testing on animals' in terms of their ethical stance on cosmetics, it is clear that this is an excellent marketing strategy given the widespread public disapproval of the practice. Ironically, those companies who do not test cosmetics on animals are still benefiting from previous data that was conducted on animals. The basic ingredients in many cosmetics formulations are the same. Therefore, a company can still obtain great benefit from the prior use of animals in cosmetics testing while being able to claim that their particular product was not tested on animals. This is a legal practice but it does go to show how far-reaching animal testing on cosmetics can be in terms of current claims.

One common query regarding cosmetics companies who do not test their products on animals is the question of how this is accomplished while still satisfying laws, regulations and safety standards. In the UK and many areas where cosmetics testing on animals is banned, manufacturers are still required by law to show that a product meets certain health, hygiene and safety standards before it can be approved for public purchase and use. As I have mentioned, one way this is accomplished is through the use of ingredients or formulations that were previously tested on animals. Another option for cosmetics manufacturers is quite simply to avoid an ingredient or group of ingredients that have not clearly shown safety in terms of animal testing. Finally, cosmetics companies can and usually do test their products on human volunteers or in clinical trials.

Cosmetics companies claim they test on animals to establish the safety of their products and ingredients for consumers. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require animal testing for cosmetics, and alternative testing methods are widely available and lead to more reliable results. Hundreds of companies – including Avon, The Body Shop and Mary Kay already use humane non-animal testing methods to ensure the safety of their cosmetics. Product testing is commonly performed on animals to measure the levels of skin irritancy, eye tissue damage, and toxicity caused by various substances used in the manufacture of cosmetics. In the Draize Eye test, caustic substances aree tested in animal eyes in order to evaluate potential damage to sensitive eye tissue. Lethal Dosage tests are used to determine the toxicity of a substance based on the minimum amount capable of killing a predetermined ratio of animals. For example, in the lethal dosage test, animals are forced to ingest a potentially poisonous substance until half of them die. Common reactions to lethal dosage tests include convulsions, vomiting, paralysis and bleeding. Not only is animal testing inhumane; it is inherently inaccurate. For example, lethal dosage tests do not measure human health hazards, but only determine how toxic the product is to the type of animal it was tested on. Test results cannot accurately be distinguished from a mouse to a rat, let alone from a rat to a human. Each species will usually react differently to various substances. Moreover, lethal dosage test results can be affected by the age and sex of the animals tested, their housing and nutritional conditions, and how the toxic compound is administered.

There are many ethical and moral issues to do with animal testing. Animal rights supporters believe that it is morally wrong to use or exploit animals in any way that humans do to them. So using animals to test something that just has the job of making you look ‘good’ is not a good enough reason to put animals in danger where they could end up dead. Some animals are even bred to just be tested on and even if they survive they kill them after their experimentation. Animal rights activists are very much against to using animals for testing cosmetics because humans . As we do not experiment on human beings without their . Just as we do not experiment on humans who are can’t tell us if it’s ok to experiment on them, we should not experiment on animals. Animals cannot give informed consent, and the vast majority of experiments using animals are so exploitive and can get the animal injured, we would never even consider allowing humans to consent to being subjects in such experiments so why would we let animals be used in this way when they can’t even speak or say anything that will help otherwise. There are also animal welfare supporters who believe that it can be morally acceptable for human beings to use or exploit animals, as long as: the suffering of the animals is either eliminated or reduced to the minimum and there is no practicable way of achieving the same end without using animals.

Method

We did two practices in school seeing the reactions of dilute ethanoic acid, we also did another test where we were making an ester and seeing what it smelt like. I also made a questionnaire asking people on their thought of animal testing.

Reactions of dilute ethanoic acid

Apparatus

Ethanoic acid
Universal indicator
Magnesium
sodium hydrogen carbonate
sodium carbonate

Method

Test a little ethanoic acid with universal indicator. What is the pH?
Fill a tube about one-third full with dilute ethanoic acid. Add a piece of magnesium. Note your observations and test the gas that is given off.
Fill a tube about one-third full with dilute ethanoic acid. Add a spatula of sodium hydrogen carbonate. Note your observations and test the gas that is given off.
Repeat step C using sodium carbonate.
Record your results neatly in a table.

Health and Safety

Wear protective eye gear to help from bad poisons getting into your eyes
Make sure you don’t get ethanoic acid on your skin as this may irritate if you do wash ut off immediately
Make sure everything is out of your way so you don’t spill anything
Stand up while doing an experiment because something may spill on you

Making an Ester

Apparatus

Boiling water
250 cm3 beaker
Ethanol
Test tube
Concentrated ethanoic acid
Concentrated sulphuric acid
100 cm3 beaker
Sodium carbonate solution
Something to stir with

Method

Pour some boiling water into a 250 cm3 beaker. Leave it to stand.
Put about 2 cm3 of ethanol into a test tube.
Add 1 cm3 of concentrated ethanoic acid and 1 drop of concentrated sulphuric acid to your tube.
Stand your tube in the beaker of hot water for about 5 minutes.
Fill a 100 cm3 beaker about half full with sodium carbonate solution.
After 5 minutes, carefully tip the liquid from the test tube into the beaker and stir well.
Carefully smell the product in the beaker.

Health and Safety

Wear protective eye gear to help from bad poisons getting into your eyes
Make sure you don’t pour the boiling water on you because it may burn your skin
Make sure you don’t get ethanoic acid on your skin as this may irritate if you do wash it off immediately
Make sure everything is out of your way so you don’t spill anything

Animal Testing Questionnaire

I had to make a questionnaire to ask people about if they agree with animal testing or not, I asked 30 people. I made 6 questions here they are-

Do you buy cosmetics? Yes / No

2) Do you know how cosmetics are made? Yes/ Kind of/ No

3) Do you have a pet? Yes/ No

4) Do you agree with animal testing? Yes/ Kind of/ No

5) Would you buy a product if you knew it had been tested on animals? Yes/ No/ Maybe

6) Do you think that it is ok to test on some animals but not others? (e.g. rats) Yes / No/ Not Sure
If yes what animals:

Any other Information/ Comments about animals testing cosmetics:

Data/Results

These are the results for my questionnaire.

Question 1- Do you buy cosmetics? Yes / No
24 people said yes and 6 people said no

I would have thought that everyone would say yes because even though some people don’t use makeup but there are other cosmetics like soap, shampoo, gel that everyone might use. However they may be confused by the term ‘cosmetics’ thinking it’s just make-up. I think that saying no to buying cosmetics may say that they might care more about animals being used to be tested because they don’t buy cosmetics so that wouldn’t affect them about the animal testing.

Question 2- Do you know how cosmetics are made? Yes/ Kind of/ No

No- 14 People Kind Of- 8 People Yes- 8 people

People who know how cosmetics are made might be more aware of the ingredients in them and know what harms animals and what doesn’t. So they would know which has been tested on animals and which hasn’t this may change there results by being against animal testing because they know that some of these ingredients are toxic and can cause animals to die. They may also not buy cosmetics or just buy them if they are completely cruelty free. People who don’t know how cosmetics are made might not be as aware to what happens when these ingredients or chemicals are tested so when they go out and buy them they are completely un aware of what happens. Some people thought they knew how the cosmetics were made but weren’t quite sure these people may be aware of what happens but aren’t really sure.

Question 3- Do you have a pet? Yes/ No

Yes- 16 No- 14

I think that whether or not you have a pet affects the way you think about animal testing. For example if you had a pet you wouldn’t want it to be hurt like those other animals so obviously you would be against animal testing. If someone doesn’t like animals they might not care about whether or not something happens to them because they don’t have their own pet so they might not know where they stand with animal testing. My results showed that just over half of the people i asked had a pet so this might show that half of people out there have a pet.

Question 4- Do you agree with animal testing? Yes/ Kind of/ No

No- 21 Yes- 4 Kind Of- 5

Most of the people I asked said no and the people who said yes said only if in medical cases. I think that this shows that people don’t like to hear that animals are tested on and that they may want this to stop. I also think that the people who said no where the ones who have pets because they may have a love for animals.

Question 5- Would you buy a product if you knew it had been tested on animals? Yes/ No/ Maybe
Maybe- 11 No- 13 Yes- 6

I think that when people know whether or not the item they are buying has been tested on animals affects what they think. The people who said maybe thought that they would only buy a product if it was tested on animals if there was no other choice for that item. I also think that the people who said no to this were also maybe against animal testing.

Question 6- Do you think that it is ok to test on some animals but not others? (e.g. rats) Yes / No/ Not Sure If yes what animals:

Yes- 8 No- 20 Not Sure-2

This graph shows that 66% of the people I asked said that it’s not ok to test on some animals but not others. The people who said no said that all animals are equal and that it’s bad on any animal. For the people that said yes they said that it would be ok to test on ‘pest’ animals such as rats and mice. They also said that it would be ok to test on chickens, raccoons, monkeys and chimpanzees. When I asked them about if they had any other Information/ comments about animals testing cosmetics; they said. ‘I think it is hard to take a complex topic and sum it up in Yes or No answers. Scientific testing has led to many breakthroughs that have improved our lives, so I think we still need animal testing. But not for cosmetics! I also think we need to do our best to keep it as humane as possible.’ This shows that this person thinks that it’s ok to test animals for good things but not cosmetics. Another person said ‘I would say animal testing makes new drugs, and cosmetics, more safe for people. There is a massive amount of knowledge that comes from a true scientific test. If something bad were to occur in the test I would much rather it be to an animal than to a human. I will agree that some animal tests are over the line, but a lot of them helped make our world safer.’ Another person said. ‘So I do not agree with testing on animals, but you just have to test the chemicals somewhere. If it was possible just to do it with other chemicals, than of course that would be the ideal solution. But if you think about it, everything must be tested before it comes out to the market, so it just have to be either on animals or human. And then, however cruel it sounds, it is better to sacrifice some animals than people. I love animals and would not be able to intentionally cause a death of one, but it just seems to be logic. It is sad, but true.’ All of these answers show that although these people do think it’s cruel to test on animals they also agree that it’s better than testing on humans but if the people are going to test on animals that make it the same way you would test on humans making it as painless as possible.

For my reactions of dilute ethanoic acid test my results were that: Yellow litmus turns red in ethanoic acid, when you fill the tube with dilute ethanoic acid and add sodium hydrogen carbonate gas pops when the splint is lighted. sodium hydrogen carbonate + ethanoic acid= bubbles.

For the second test my ester smelt like nail varnish remover.

Evaluation

I could have improved my questionnaire and extended the research in many ways. For instance I think that should have asked more people around the same age to see the different opinions of that age group. I would have maybe taken each one to tell me what they thought at a time so they wouldn’t get influenced by the rest of their peer’s opinions and change their mind or their opinion as some people may say certain things as they don’t want other people to know what they really feel. This would help to make my questionnaire more reliable because I would get the real view on what that person thought so my results would be more accurate on their opinion. This would make my questionnaire more valid as the only thing I would have changed would be the person and all the people would be the same age so that would make it fairer too. I think I could have also focussed on 2 main ages maybe on some children at around the age of 10 and asked them the same questions and ask some adults who are maybe in their late 30’s and see and compare the answers to see what the different opinions there are between the two. I could have also maybe asked a few more people as this would get me more reliable results as I would get more than one person who thought the same things and I could average the results and see what they thought over all. I could have also asked more questions based on animals being exploited so I had more views on this too as not many people answered in full. I think by getting people to answer in full I should have put ‘why?’ on the end of my questions to get their point would be made clear. The thing that went well was that I got different views from different sorts of people and that people were happy to answer my questions. My results for the first practical weren’t very reliable I think that is because they weren’t very clear. I could have made it more reliable by testing each thing a number of times before writing down my results this would help to make it more accurate. I think I could have made it valid by putting the exact same amount of water in the test tubes when repeating it this makes my test fairer and also gives me a reliable result. For the first test to make it more valid I should pour exactly the same amount of water in the beaker and I should also use a stop watch to make sure that I have waited 5 minutes. To make this test more reliable I think I should of repeated the test to make sure the product in the beaker smelt the same and to also make sure that I didn’t make a mistake during the experiment.

Emollients are substances that soften and soothe the skin. They are used to correct dryness and scaling of the skin. They are a key component in the manufacture of lipstick, lotions, and other cosmetic products.

I am going to test L’Oreal full restore 5. It claims to do five things, 1. Feel stronger, 2. Looks fuller, 3. Looks revitalised 4. Has a healthy looking shine, 5. Feels and looks silkier. In order to challenge the claims of these cosmetic manufacturers, a controlled study trial must take place. Here, any number of people can be used but in this case, forty people are split into two groups, one group will use this shampoo and the other group will use another shampoo that doesn’t use Pro-Keratin and Ceramide. They claim that those ingredients are the things that make hair look fully restored as ‘Reinforcing: Enriched with Pro-Keratin, the conditioning formula reinforces each hair fibre leaving it feeling strengthened and better able to resist daily wear and tear.’ and ‘Re-Surfacing: Enriched with Ceramide, a replica of hair’s natural cement, the formula helps restore a smoother feel to the hair fibre, leaving it soft to the touch with a healthy looking shine. ‘ I think by using a shampoo without these ingredients might help to check whether these claims are true. The patients will also be closely monitored to obtain valid results for one month. I will get the people to wash their hair every day with the shampoo that has been given to them and we will see whether this will change what happens to their hair. I will make this reliable by checking to see if anyone has different results to someone else this might be because their hair is different to the other person. I will make this valid by making sure that there are equal amounts of people in each group, and I will have their ages at around the same, I will also make sure that they’re hair type is the same, because if I get an anomalous this might be because of their hair type. I will also make sure that they use the exact same amount of shampoo on their hair as it may affect the results.

Conclusion

I think that using animal testing is ok but only if its for medical uses because e that could most probably save a life. In the UK in 2000 1,607,000 mice were used, 535,000 rats were used, 71,500 other rodents, 39,700 rabbits were used, 11,600 carnivore animals were used, 63,000 hoofed animals were used, 3,700 primates, 500 other mammals, 124,200 birds, 15,600 reptiles and 243,000 fishes were used in animal testing. This is by far a lot and many of these animals have died in this process. I think that animal testing does work as it has helped to develop vaccines against diseases like rabies, polio, measles, mumps, rubella and TB. Other things rely on animal tests such as Antibiotics, HIV drugs, insulin and cancer treatments because other testing methods aren’t reliable enough. I also think that it is in some cases a good thing because it is better than using humans and them dying, but it is also a bad thing because deaths through medical research are absolutely unnecessary and are morally no different from murder so the poor animals are dying for no particular reason. I think that testing cosmetic on animals is wrong because basically, this is a very inhuman practice caused by humans on animals. These various tests carried out on animals is not a guarantee for using cosmetics on our skin since animals react differently to certain chemicals as compared to humans. Cosmetic testing on animals cannot be considered to be completely reliable. It can cause permanent damage to animals. To sum up I think that animal testing is ok but only if it’s used for medical research that can really help prevent diseases to humans. But I think that they should be treated like how you would treat a human and they should have to feel no pain at all.