Isolation of the Active Ingredient in an Analgesic Drug

Sasha Thiel
09.10.2012
CH203 Lab
Experiment 1: Isolation of the Active Ingredient in an Analgesic Drug
Pre-Lab:
A. Least accurate to most accurate 1. Beakers (5ml markings) 2. 10ml graduated cylinder (0.1 markings) 3. 5ml vials (0.1 and 0.3 markings) 4. 1ml plastic pipets (0.1 ml markings) 5. 1ml syringes (0.1 ml markings) 6. 1ml graduated volumetric pipets (0.01 ml markings) B. A 1ml graduated volumetric pipet is the best to use if you want 0.15 ml of reactant C. 1ml plastic pipets (used 2 times) are best to use when you want 2 ml of solvent

Safety Hazards: 1. Methanol is flammable and toxic. Don’t breathe it in or drink it. 2. All organic waste goes in the waste containers and not down a sink

Drug | Melting Point | Acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin) | 135°-136° C | Acetaminophen (Tylenol) | 169°-170.5° C | Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) | 75°-77° C |

Introduction: Acetylsalicylic acid, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen are all active ingredients for pain relievers. However, these pain relievers are not purely composed from one of these three active ingredients. Analgesics (pain-relievers) also contain starch or other inert substances to keep the tablet from falling apart and make them large enough to handle. Also, many of these drugs have coating so that the tablet is easier to swallow and doesn’t taste bitter. In this experiment we will learn microscale level lap techniques such as vacuum filtration, column chromatography, and centrifugation to extract the active ingredient from tablets.

Separation and Purification Scheme:
Analgesic with Binder Add methanol (CH3OH) dissolve analgesic
Analgesic in solution with binder Centrifuge +filter some binder

Analgesic in solution with binder Alumina column remaining binder

Analgesic in solution with methanol Evaporate most CH3OH (methanol)

Analgesic and some methanol Remaining CH3OH (methanol) Ice bath