OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this investigation are:
) Research available literature on aspirin with reference to synthesis, history, and medical use.
2) Prepare a pure sample of aspirin starting with oil of wintergreen as the initial compound.
3) Verify the identity and measure purity of the manufactured aspirin using a range of techniques.
4) Devise additional investigations into manufacture, properties or usage of Aspirin.
Background Information
Aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid is made from salicylic acid, found in the bark of the willow tree, which was used by the ancient Greeks and Native Americans, among others, to counter fever and pain. Salicylic acid is bitter and irritates the stomach. The German chemist Felix Hoffman synthesized the acetyl derivative of salicylic acid in 1893 in response to the urging of his father, who took salicylic acid for rheumatism. Aspirin is currently the first-choice drug for fever, mild to moderate pain, and inflammation due to arthritis or injury. It is a more effective analgesic than codeine. Aspirin causes insignificant gastrointestinal bleeding that can over time, however, cause iron deficiency; gastric ulcers may also occur with long-term use. Complications can be avoided by using enteric-coated aspirin, which does not dissolve until reaching the intestine. Aspirin should not be given to children who have chicken pox or influenza, because it increases the risk of contracting the rare and frequently fatal Reye's syndrome, a disease of the brain and some abdominal organs.
Aspirin is thought to act by interfering with synthesis of prostaglandins, which are implicated in inflammation and fever. Studies of aspirin's anticlotting activities suggest that half an aspirin tablet per day may reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in some persons.
Timeline:
BC 400 Greece Hippocrates prescribes willow leaf tea to alleviate the pain of childbirth in.
763 Oxford Reverend Edward Stone of Chipping gives dried willow bark to fifty parishioners who are suffering from rheumatic fever.
823 Italy Active ingredient is extracted from willow and named salicin.
838 Salicin is found in the meadowsweet flower by Swiss and German researchers.
853 France Salicylic acid prepared from salicin by scientists but it is found to irritate the gut lining.
893 Germany scientists find that by adding an acetyl group to salicylic acid the irritating properties are diminished.
897 Germany Bayer Company patent a process for synthesising acetylsalicylic acid or aspirin. Clinical trials are started.
899 Germany Successful completion of clinical trials.
914 Outbreak of World War I disrupts international pharmaceutics trade. Australian pharmacist G. R. Nicholas wins competition to discover new method of producing aspirin.
930 Germany Bayer's patent on acetylsalicylic acid runs out.
974 Professor Elwood presents first evidence of the effects of aspirin in the prevention of heart attacks.
982 English scientist Professor Sir John Vane, Sune Bergström and Bengt Samuelsson win a Nobel Prize for finding the role of aspirin in the inhibition of prostaglandin production.
989 US researchers report preliminary study suggesting that aspirin may delay the onset of senile dementia
994 Rotterdam Professor Henk C S Wallenburg shows that aspirin may help in treating pre-eclampsia in pregnant women.
995 American researchers find evidence that aspirin protects against bowel cancer.
Aspirin Pain Relief and Further Research
Aspirin's active ingredient, acetylsalicylic acid is the commercially synthesized form of a naturally occurring compound whose uses can be traced back 2,000 years. The compound, called salicin, is found in the white willow tree. Around 200 B.C., Hippocrates, the Greek physician known as the father of medicine, discovered that chewing on willow bark could relieve pain and fever.
Although ASA was a proven pain reliever, no one really knew how it worked until more than 70 years after Hoffmann's discovery. In 1971, British pharmacologist John Vane discovered that the anti-inflammatory properties of ASA result from its ability to inhibit the body's production of certain chemical mediators (prostaglandins) that promote inflammation and, therefore, cause pain. Vane received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1982 for this medical research breakthrough.
Bayer trademarked "Aspirin" in Germany on March 6, 1899. The name comes from "a" for "acetyl" and "spir" from "spirea," a plant offering a natural source of salicin. The drug made its debut in 1899 as a powder.
During its first decade, aspirin was found by physicians worldwide to be so effective as a medicine; it became popularly used for a range of ailments from headaches, fever, inflammation, pleurisy and tonsillitis to tuberculosis, gonorrhea and gout.
The objectives of this investigation are:
) Research available literature on aspirin with reference to synthesis, history, and medical use.
2) Prepare a pure sample of aspirin starting with oil of wintergreen as the initial compound.
3) Verify the identity and measure purity of the manufactured aspirin using a range of techniques.
4) Devise additional investigations into manufacture, properties or usage of Aspirin.
Background Information
Aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid is made from salicylic acid, found in the bark of the willow tree, which was used by the ancient Greeks and Native Americans, among others, to counter fever and pain. Salicylic acid is bitter and irritates the stomach. The German chemist Felix Hoffman synthesized the acetyl derivative of salicylic acid in 1893 in response to the urging of his father, who took salicylic acid for rheumatism. Aspirin is currently the first-choice drug for fever, mild to moderate pain, and inflammation due to arthritis or injury. It is a more effective analgesic than codeine. Aspirin causes insignificant gastrointestinal bleeding that can over time, however, cause iron deficiency; gastric ulcers may also occur with long-term use. Complications can be avoided by using enteric-coated aspirin, which does not dissolve until reaching the intestine. Aspirin should not be given to children who have chicken pox or influenza, because it increases the risk of contracting the rare and frequently fatal Reye's syndrome, a disease of the brain and some abdominal organs.
Aspirin is thought to act by interfering with synthesis of prostaglandins, which are implicated in inflammation and fever. Studies of aspirin's anticlotting activities suggest that half an aspirin tablet per day may reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in some persons.
Timeline:
BC 400 Greece Hippocrates prescribes willow leaf tea to alleviate the pain of childbirth in.
763 Oxford Reverend Edward Stone of Chipping gives dried willow bark to fifty parishioners who are suffering from rheumatic fever.
823 Italy Active ingredient is extracted from willow and named salicin.
838 Salicin is found in the meadowsweet flower by Swiss and German researchers.
853 France Salicylic acid prepared from salicin by scientists but it is found to irritate the gut lining.
893 Germany scientists find that by adding an acetyl group to salicylic acid the irritating properties are diminished.
897 Germany Bayer Company patent a process for synthesising acetylsalicylic acid or aspirin. Clinical trials are started.
899 Germany Successful completion of clinical trials.
914 Outbreak of World War I disrupts international pharmaceutics trade. Australian pharmacist G. R. Nicholas wins competition to discover new method of producing aspirin.
930 Germany Bayer's patent on acetylsalicylic acid runs out.
974 Professor Elwood presents first evidence of the effects of aspirin in the prevention of heart attacks.
982 English scientist Professor Sir John Vane, Sune Bergström and Bengt Samuelsson win a Nobel Prize for finding the role of aspirin in the inhibition of prostaglandin production.
989 US researchers report preliminary study suggesting that aspirin may delay the onset of senile dementia
994 Rotterdam Professor Henk C S Wallenburg shows that aspirin may help in treating pre-eclampsia in pregnant women.
995 American researchers find evidence that aspirin protects against bowel cancer.
Aspirin Pain Relief and Further Research
Aspirin's active ingredient, acetylsalicylic acid is the commercially synthesized form of a naturally occurring compound whose uses can be traced back 2,000 years. The compound, called salicin, is found in the white willow tree. Around 200 B.C., Hippocrates, the Greek physician known as the father of medicine, discovered that chewing on willow bark could relieve pain and fever.
Although ASA was a proven pain reliever, no one really knew how it worked until more than 70 years after Hoffmann's discovery. In 1971, British pharmacologist John Vane discovered that the anti-inflammatory properties of ASA result from its ability to inhibit the body's production of certain chemical mediators (prostaglandins) that promote inflammation and, therefore, cause pain. Vane received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1982 for this medical research breakthrough.
Bayer trademarked "Aspirin" in Germany on March 6, 1899. The name comes from "a" for "acetyl" and "spir" from "spirea," a plant offering a natural source of salicin. The drug made its debut in 1899 as a powder.
During its first decade, aspirin was found by physicians worldwide to be so effective as a medicine; it became popularly used for a range of ailments from headaches, fever, inflammation, pleurisy and tonsillitis to tuberculosis, gonorrhea and gout.
