Salicylic acid and its derivative, acetylsalicylic acid, are often encountered in introductory organic chemistry experiments, and mention is often made that salicylic acid was originally isolated from the bark of the willow tree. This biological connection, however, is typically not further pursued, leaving students with an impression that biology…

A diffusion cell to model the permeation of salicylate drugs through the skin using low-cost materials and a sensitive colorimetric analytical technique is described. The diffusion apparatus has been used at a further education college by a student for her AS-level Extended Project to investigate the permeation rates of salicylic acid…

The spectrophotometric determination of the percent composition of an aspirin tablet is a common first-year, general chemistry undergraduate laboratory procedure. The experiment requires that a known amount of pure acetylsalicylic acid be quantitatively converted into the soluble disodium salicylic acid that is further reacted with excess…

Here, students determine aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) mass in pharmaceutical tablets using a colorimetric method. Aspirin, salicylate, and salicylic acid do not absorb visible light. Thus, in alkaline medium, acetylsalicylic acid was hydrolyzed to salicylate; then, it was reacted with an acidic Fe(III) solution, and a violet complex was formed.…

Adsorption studies of salicylic acid (SA) and 4-nitroaniline (4NA) from aqueous solutions were performed with magnetic biochar (MBC) in order to train students in analytical techniques such as standard calibration curves, UV-vis spectrophotometry, and chemical separations within the context of wastewater purification. Analysis of samples purified…

A low-cost and portable colorimeter was constructed featuring a low-voltage programmable color light sensor-to-frequency converter, a CMOS 8-bit microcontroller, and an LCD display. The instrument has successfully facilitated the introduction and application of spectroscopy to groups of middle school, high school, and undergraduate students. A…

The esterification reaction of salicylic acid with ethanol is performed in presence of dissolved 12-tungstophosphoric Brønsted-Lowry acid catalyst, a Keggin-type polyoxometalate (POM). The monitoring of the reaction with smell and the recovery of the catalyst with sight is presented. Formation of the sweet-scented ester is apparent from the smell.…

Presents a series of experiments that can be used to demonstrate how aspirin can be synthesized and characterized, how the hydrolysis of aspirin can be used as an introduction to kinetics, and how coordination chemistry (chelation) can be introduced by preparing and characterizing the copper complexes of aspirin and salicylic acid. (Contains over…

This book provides laboratory experiments to enhance any food science/botany curriculum. Chapter 1, "Introduction," presents a survey of the techniques used in plant biotechnology laboratory procedures. Chapter 2, "Micronutrition," discusses media and nutritional requirements for tissue culture studies. Chapter 3, "Sterile Seeds," focuses on the…

"Visualization" of chemical phenomena often has been limited in the teaching laboratories to the sense of sight. We have developed chemistry experiments that rely on senses other than eyesight to investigate chemical concepts, make quantitative determinations, and familiarize students with chemical techniques traditionally designed using only…