Introduction Acetaminophen, also known as Paracetamol, is an organic compound that is commonly used as a medication for pain and fever relief. It has been around for a while and is found under several different brand names around the world. With research, the chemistry behind acetaminophen can be discovered as well as its practical applications, its adverse effects to society and the environment, and other information surrounding this compound. The History In the middle ages, Antipyretic agents (for preventing or reducing fevers) were compounds found in the bark of white willow and cinchona trees. Alternatives to this were eventually sought for in the 1880s as the cinchona tree had become scarce. In the 1880s, the development of alternative antipyretic agents began to develop acetanilide in 1886 and phenacetin the following year. At this point in time, Harmon Northrop Morse had already synthesized …show more content…
There are three steps that occur in the synthesis of acetaminophen. First is the nitration of phenol, where phenol (hydroxybenzene) reacts with sodium nitrate, which is an oxidizing agent, while in the presence of sulfuric acid. This produces a mixture of structural isomers of nitrophenol. The second step is the reduction of a nitro group to an amine. In this case, oxygen is lost from the nitro group of 4-nitrophenol and a hydrogen is added to form 4-aminophenol, an amine. By the weak forces of attraction of a catalyst, the 4-nitrophenol molecules are held to the surface of the catalysts; the strong covalent bonds in the nitro group are then weakened and are vulnerable to be attacked by hydrogen. The final step is the formation of an amide. Most amines undergo reactions with anhydrides to produces amides. 4-aminophenol is suspended in water at room temperature and reacts readily with ethanoic anhydride, which is an acetic anhydride, producing a precipitate of the amide, which is the acetaminophen. (“Paracetamol
Oral acetaminophen is rapidly absorbed from the stomach and small intestines. The serum drug concentration peaks 1-2 hours once after ingestion. Peak plasma level occurs within 4 hours of post ingestion of over dose of an immediate release preparation. Therapeutic levels are 5-20 µg/ml. Acetaminophen primarily metabolized by liver to non toxic, water soluble form that is eliminated in the urine. Overdose leads to formation of hepatotoxic reactive metabolite causes an ensuring cascade of oxidative damage and mitochondrial dysfunction. This subsequent inflammatory response propagates hepatocellular injury and death. Similar enzymatic reaction occurs i...
Innovated by the fact that ancient people use willow bark to ease pain, the first chemically pure and stable acetylsalicylic acid was synthesized by a German chemist called Felix Hoffmann, in 1897 (Bayer AG, 2011). Aspirin was firstly taken by his father in order to reduce his arthritis pain. Aspirin successfully eased the pain. After two years’ laboratory experiment, aspirin as a product was first launched by Bayer AG in 1899 (Bayer AG, 2011). The coming world war accidentally boosted the demand of aspirin.
The percentage of crude acetaminophen was 77.78%. The infrared spectrum of synthesised acetaminophen was similar to the USP grade acetaminophen. The functional groups and type of bonds in acetaminophen were identified. The NH bond stretching at wavenumber 3325.81 cm-1 and 3325.44 cm-1 in USP grade acetaminophen and synthesised acetaminophen. The bending of NH bond formed a band around 1610 cm-1. The presence of carbonyl group in both synthesised and USP grade acetaminophen gave a peak at wavenumber 1663.50 cm-1 and 1664.71 cm-1. Acetaminophen is para-disubstitution, it formed a peak around wavenumber 837cm-1. There were two small broad peaks found in both spectrum around wavenumber 3160 cm-1 to 3210 cm-1, this indicated the presence of OH group in the solutions. The melting point of synthesised and USP grade acetaminophen were 160 ℃-170 ℃ and 160 ℃-173 ℃. Both of these acetaminophen do not comply with the USP monograph melting point which is 168 ℃ to 172 ℃. This indicated there are some impurity presence in both of the synthesised and USP grade acetaminophen. The maximum wavelength of synthesised acetaminophen was 244.0 nm which was close to the wavelength of USP grade acetaminophen. The retention factor of synthesised and USP grade acetaminophen were 0.93 and 0.94. This showed that the purity of synthesised acetaminophen was similar to the USP grade acetaminophen. The absorbance value of synthesised and USP grade
Tylenol is one of the most used and common pain reliever in the world. But after seven murders in 1982, this number reduced dramatically, and the product was removed from sales until the city of Chicago was back under control. Many lawsuits were filed while there was no evidence to blame anyone. The mystery behind cyanide-laced Tylenol murders can be summed up in two theories: there is a killer or it was a production mistake.
Acetaminophen is in over 200 over the counter drugs but mainly know through Tylenol It is every safe when used as directed even for people with liver disease. Acetaminophen can cause liver damage when taken in overdosing amounts or taken regularly without a doctors directions. Also if regularly taken while consuming alcohol. Symptoms from a damaged liver from Acetaminophen are nauseas and vomiting the first 24 hours after taking medication after that the damage has been done to your liver. Acetaminophen is used to most commonly treat headache, muscle aches, arthritis, backache, toothaches, colds, and fevers. Acetaminophen rarely causes serious damage to the liver mostly just cause’s elevation of liver
In the fall of 1982, customers consuming Tylenol tablets, mainly in the Chicago, Illinois area, mysteriously began to die. For unknown reasons, someone replaced the Tylenol capsules with cyanide-laced capsules. The packages were resealed and were then dropped onto the shelves of pharmacies throughout Chicago. As a result, seven people
During the 1900's, the McNeil company developed and established Tylenol into a well known and recommended analgesic. It has become recognized world wide as a safe brand of acetaminophen. The name Tylenol has become identified as a trusted, safe drug that people can easily purchase over the counter for their ailments. Tylenol is still recommended by doctors even though there was a cyanide scare in the history of the company. It has been discovered by my independent survey that consumers use Tylenol for their pet's needs also.
Para-nitrophenol is a stronger acid then phenol itself because the nitro group on the p-nitrophenol is a strong electron-withdrawing group. This strong deactivating nitro group attracts the loan pair from the oxygen towards itself by resonance so the O-H bond gets weak and the proton gets more susceptible to getting taken off. When the proton is pulled off the resonance stabilizes the negative charge creating a weak conjugate base. In contrast the phenol doesn’t have the nitro group to electron withdraw therefore it maintains the stronger electronegativity of the oxygen and the proton is not easily pulled off. As known before an acid donates a proton and has a weak conjugate base therefore the acidity is stronger for the nitrophenol then a
Aspirin is one of the most commonly used drug in the world. The generic name is acetyl salicylic acid and the drug belongs to the group of non- steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines, which works by inhibiting the production of compounds in the body that cause pain, fever, inflammation, and blood clots (Koester, 1993. Aspirin is also a member of the salicylate family of compounds as it synthetized from salicylic acid, which was discovered in oxford (UK) by Edward stone in 1793 and first synthetized in laboratory in 1897 by a German scientist, Felix Hoffmann of the Bayer company (Rinsema, 1999). The drug is also known as Acetoxybenzoic acid, Acylpyrin, Ecotrin, Acenterine, Polopiryna, Acetosal, Colfarit and is prescribed for e.g. migraine, headache, back and muscle pain, arthritis, heart attacks and strokes. Aspirin is used in both human and veterinary medicine.
Pain killers, such as acetaminophen, while very useful and commonly use do present a health issue to the public. As noted through news stories, television shows, and maybe even through our own families, acetaminophen can become quite addictive. While only having such medications available through prescription only, which could cause public outcry, it is done so for safety. People of any age who take these medication could fall under the abuse habit and become addicted to the drug(s). Acetaminophen, and similar drugs, could tip the benefit-risk assessment in the negative direction. Having commonly used medications such as acetaminophen, only available through a prescription would be more of a hassle (when compared to a OTC version) and would upset several people, but again it is done this way for safety of the overall
After creating the compound acetyl salicylic acid, it will be thoroughly analyzed through a series of steps that test its melting point, purity, and solubility as compared to commercial aspirin. By solving for the melting point range of the synthesized aspirin, one can determine its purity. Then by adding 1% ferric chloride, the color of both the synthesized and commercial aspirin represents its purity. In theory, the synthesized aspirin should be relatively the same color as the commercial drug. Finally, both types of aspirin are placed into different solutions to determine their solubility properties. For all three of these analyses, the synthesized aspirin should test similar to the commercial aspirin in hopes it was created
This yellow like substance can accumulate in the body since heme cannot break it down and cause the yellow discoloration that is often seen with a patient who is suffering from cirrhosis. A liver panel test should be done to determine how well the liver is functioning. Certain medications can also cause liver damage. For example, Tylenol in large doses and frequent use can cause this and in a relatively short period of time. “However, taking too much acetaminophen at once, or taking a high dose of acetaminophen continuously over several days can cause damage to the liver” (“Medications,” n.d.).. “Healthy individuals should not take more than 1,000 mg of acetaminophen per dose, and should not take more than 3,000 mg in one day” (“Medications,” n.d.). Educating patients on how to prevent liver damage when taking Tylenol should be done to prevent future illnesses. Other medications such as those that treat cholesterol as well as some supplements and herbs should be carefully monitored. “Some of the natural products known to be toxic to the liver include chaparral, comfrey tea, kava, skullcap, and Yohimbe, but there are others” (“Medications,” n.d.). Iron and vitamin A are known to be toxic to the liver and should not be taken unless there is some type of
Phenyl butazone Also same as Aspirin and paracetamol in its polarity, partition and susceptibility for ionization in water as it has (β-Dicarbonyl and alicyclic
In September of 1982 seven people from Chicago died after taking Tylenol capsules. Tylenol was the leading pain-killer medicine in the United States at the time. It was reported that an unknown suspect put 65 milligrams of deadly cyanide into Tylenol capsules. It was assumed that the tampering occurred once the product reached the shelves. They were removed from the shelves, infected with cyanide and returned to the shelves (Mitchell 1989).
Johnson & Johnson’s cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules in 1982 was a crisis where seven people died after taking the extra-strength Tylenol capsules that had been laced with potassium cyanide, a deadly poison, and the killer was never found (Bhasin, 2011.) In response, the company put their customers' safety first and pulled 31 million bottles of Tylenol, $100 million worth, of the shelves and stopped their production and even their advertisement (Bhasin, 2011.) After this crisis,