PRODUCTION & CHEMICAL QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF ASPIRIN

PRODUCTION AND CHEMICAL QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF ASPIRIN

ABSTRACT

The question on whether aspirin has any important role to play or not has generated a lot of controversies over years especially among the individuals that fakes the drug, and the pharmaceutical industries that produces it.  This question that seemed to be half way answered gave rise to carrying out of this study. This work is in such a way as to help the readers understand the role of aspirin in human health and the chemical component of the drug in reaction.  It also deals extensively with the definition and background of study, the statement of some problems, the aims and objectives, the limitation and hypothesis and for the work to be neatly done, there are some books we searched so as to gather more information as is stated in the literature review.  It also deals with the uses or importance of the drug, the side eff3ects, and the solution to the problems and the definition of some terms. The result of the work is also analysed and the conclusion was drawn. It is also finally recommended to everybody that has the need to take it and some references were also done.

CHAPTER ONE 
INTRODUCTION 
1.1     BACKGROUND OF STUDY 
Aspirin can be defined as an analgesic drug made from a willow barks as a fever fighter.  The leaves and the bark of the willow tree contain a substance known as Salicin.  Salicin is a naturally occurring compound similar to acetyl salicylic acid.  Aspirin, (Edward Stone, 1996). In the laboratory, one can synthesis aspirin a derivative of salicylic acid.  It is antipyretic because it lowers the body temperature of a person that has fever.  The compound has little effect if the body temperature is normal.  Salicylates are mild analgesic that relieves pains associated with headaches, (Neuralgia – a pain that is felt along a nerve usually in the head or face) and rheumatism (a disease that makes the muscles and joints painful, stiff and swallowed, (Oxford Dictionary, 6th edition). Aspirin for more than hundred years now has been used as a pain reliever for many diseases.  Americans consumed over 20 billion tablets a year.  The most commonly salicylic used in medicine today is aspirin.  In this research work, aspirin was prepared from Salicylic acid and acetic anhydride.
1.2     STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS 
There are several problems facing the nation today in drug production, this problems motivated us to embark on this work.  In the society today, faking and adulteration of drugs have increased in a high rate that production of some drugs like aspirin has become doubtful of its importance to people. Even the most standard industries among them face doubts by people because of the problem caused by the lower standard industries.  Also the use of substandard raw materials and the importation of aspirin by some pharmacists are doubtful.  All these are the problem facing the nation today in aspirin production.   
1.3              AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 
The aim of embarking on this study is to know how aspirin a derivative of salicylic acid can be produced in the laboratory.  And how it can be produced in a high quality that can be used in Pharmaceutical preparations.  
1.4              LIMITATION 
This work on aspirin production was only limited to the laboratory method of preparation of aspirin and for the time constraint, there are some areas that was supposed to be covered, but because of time, it was limited. It was also limited to money constraints, some research procedure and techniques different from the one that was used here, were not followed because it was very costlier than the one used.   
1.5     HYPOTHESIS 
There are different opinion about aspirin and its function in the pharmaceutical industries.  Some people were of the opinion that pharmaceutical industries do not use aspirin as the common salicylate in the production of other drugs, while others are saying that it can be used in other to produce a proper analgesic drug that can be approved by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.  As a result of these ideas, two types of hypothesis were employed to facilitate the research work, such as blow: