ERIC Number: EJ1221689
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Jul
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Quantitative Analysis Using a Flatbed Scanner: Aspirin Quantification in Pharmaceutical Tablets
da Silva, Rodrigo Sens; Borges, Endler Marcel
Journal of Chemical Education, v96 n7 p1519-1526 Jul 2019
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. Quantitative analysis was carried out using absorbance measured at 535 nm (standard method) and digital images obtained with a flatbed scanner (proposed method). Results obtained with both methods were compared using an F-test and a t-test; both methods had shown equivalent accuracy and precision at the 95% confidence level. In addition, one-way ANOVA showed that aspirin masses found by five student groups using both methods are equivalent at the 95% confidence level. In the proposed method, samples were placed in a 96 microwell plate, and RGB values were extracted automatically from all wells in less than 5 min using ImageJ's plugin "ReadPlate"; data obtained were organized using a spreadsheet to determine aspirin mass in pharmaceutical tablets, recovery, and percent error. Our goal was to design a portable, cost-effective, and user-friendly platform and to develop an experimental methodology that can easily be applied to any research and education laboratory using just a flatbed scanner.
Descriptors: Spreadsheets, Drug Therapy, Light, Chemistry, Accuracy, Science Experiments, Cost Effectiveness, Teaching Methods, Laboratory Experiments, Undergraduate Students, Spectroscopy, Hands on Science, Pharmacology
Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A