Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Mrs. Ryan
AP Biology
March 12th, 2010
I. Title
A Study of the Effects of Steam and Humidity on Brand-Name and Generic Acetylsalicylic Acid
Table of Contents
I.Title...................................................................................................................................................1
II.Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
III.Abstract...........................................................................................................................................3
IV.Method............................................................................................................................................5
A.Method Overview........................................................................................................................5
B.For each tablet it is necessary to - ..............................................................................................5
C.Method Notes..............................................................................................................................5
D.Supplies.......................................................................................................................................6
V.Results..............................................................................................................................................7
VI.Discussion......................................................................................................................................8
VII.Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................10
VIII.References/Bibliography...........................................................................................................10
A.Major Sources...........................................................................................................................10
B.Minor Sources...........................................................................................................................11
IX.Graphs and Diagrams...................................................................................................................12
X.Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................13
Perhaps the title of my experiment makes it sound a bit more complex than it truly is, for in
laymen's terms, my project would be titled: “The Effects of Steam on Aspirin - The Steamy
Medicine Cabinet.” The idea behind this experiment is simply that; can steam from your shower
affect the concentration of your aspirin? This is significant because across America (and the world)
people store aspirin in their medicine cabinets, and furthermore, people across America (and the
world) are showering every day. Could this degrade their aspirin? Is this something people taking
The idea for this project came rather easily to me. Admittedly, I like my showers rather
scorching, and one day, while trying to think of a project, I noticed the steam while trying to get into
my medicine cabinet. Additionally, I had some resources in the drug concentration field, as both my
parents have worked in the pharmaceutical industry. After the idea had hatched in my mind, I
discussed it with my parents and teachers, and further developed the idea until it turned into the
project enclosed.
Over-the-counter drugs and supplements claim that as long as certain conditions are met, it
is safe to store them in your bathroom's medicine cabinet. Oftentimes brand-name and generic
versions of the same drug have the same warnings about storage and storage conditions. But do they
have the same rate of degeneration when stress is applied? Is the advertised dosage an accurate
reflection of how much of something is truly in a pill? Is there an accurate method to analyze and
quantify these questions when they're applied to the popular analgesic, acetylsalicylic acid, better
With a precise enough method, I hypothesized that I could conclude relative differences in
brand name and generic aspirins, both in untouched and degraded forms. Specifically, that there will
be no significant difference in “pure-form” brand name or generic aspirins, but there will be a small
difference in concentration when they are exposed to steam, the literal “steamy-bathroom.” But the
differences in aspirin concentration due to steam will be equivalent in both brand name and generic
drugs. Considering that ASA degrades at 140° C, and steam is approximately 100° C, I
My method used sodium hydroxide solution to hydrolyze ASA to produce salicylic acid. The
salicylic acid then reacted with iron (III) to give a complex that absorbs light at 530nm. This
Steam and humidity degrades aspirin, and it is possible for steam from one's shower to affect
aspirin in one's medicine cabinet. My experiment was able to detect these changes in aspirin
concentration, and precisely, too (within almost 10% coefficient of variation). Initial concentrations
of brand name and generic aspirin were found to be equivalent, but not necessarily “as advertised,”
for my experiment was relative, not quantitative, and I could not detect milligrams of aspirin.
its structure.
A. Method Overview
This method uses sodium hydroxide solution to hydrolyze ASA to produce salicylic acid.
The salicylic acid then reacts with iron (III) to give a complex that absorbs light at 530nm. This
hydroxide (NaOH) solution to the flask, and heat until the contents begin to boil.
ii. Quantitatively transfer the solution to a 250 mL volumetric flask, and dilute with
iii. Pipet a 2.5 mL sample of this aspirin tablet solution to a 50 mL volumetric flask.
Dilute to the mark with an iron (III) solution. Place solution in a 125 mL Erlenmeyer
flask.
vi. Insert the blank (unadulterated iron solution) and set the blank to “0 absorbance.”
vii. Insert aspirin sample solution from 125ml Erlenmeyer flask into cuvette, and
C. Method Notes
ix. Use extreme caution and hood when boiling sodium hydroxide.
x. Make sure all aspirin dissolved in sodium hydroxide, “clumps” will skew results.
D. Supplies
xii. Erlenmeyer flasks
xiii. Cuvettes
xv.Pipets
xvii. Spectrophotometer
xviii. Parafilm
The results of my experiment clearly show a decrease of about 25% in the steamed generic
ASA whereas the steamed brand-name ASA retained its structure. This would suggest that brand
name ASA is more durable than generic. But the decreased concentration of the generic steamed
pills shows that steam can definitely affect aspirin strength, and thus conclusively, one should not
let one's aspirin come into contact with steam, humidity, or “steamy-bathroom conditions.”
My experiment was found to be precise enough, for my coefficient of variation was safely
within the under 20% mark, most results being under 10%. In terms of the mean, the brand-name
steamed aspirin shows an increase in concentration, which is arguably impossible. But the
coefficient of variation increased, which shows that there is there's a 10% window of inaccuracy as
opposed to about a 5%window on the controls. This suggests that the brand-name variable did see
some decrease, but my high results outweigh the lower one and bring the mean up. From this I can
tentatively conclude that the steamed brand-name aspirin did see some light degradation, but my
My method of measuring aspirin breaks down the aspirin tablet into salicylic acid (SA) and
makes it react with a iron (III) to create a complex that absorbs light at 530nm. But what if the
steam the “variable” pills were exposed to broke down the aspirin into salicylic acid? If steam
breaks aspirin down into salicylic acid, this method couldn't measure it.
530nm
It should be noted that this rendition of the aspirins degeneration pathway uses “A” and
“SA” variables to represent aspirin's acetyl group and salicylic group, for sake of brevity and
comprehensiveness.
Furthermore, another error with the method I used that I would amend upon a second try
would be to acquire more than 5 runs of each pill. This would allow me to more conclusively define
what truly happens to aspirin in steamy conditions. I imagine this is a common experimental
problem; lack of data. By this I mean, not only the data of the absorbency of the the aspirin
• Hardness of tablets
• Weight of aspirin tablets before and after steam bath and how it compares to absorbency
Additionally, something that could be incorporated into the experimental design is the smell
of tablets after a steam bath. This thought came to me after I very cleverly put aspirin in the oven at
I noticed the sample smelt like vinegar. This was the acetic acid being released into the air
(harmless in small doses, but mild irritant). This coincided with my experiment because after the
aspirin steam bath, the generic pills gave of a vinegary smell while the brand-name did not. From
this I can tentatively conclude that the generic tablets degraded into their acetyl group, while the
VIII. References/Bibliography
A. Major Sources
ii. "Aspirin." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 1 Jan 2010, 15:00 UTC. 5 Jan 2010
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aspirin&oldid=335288022>.
a) Although The Wikipedia is often put down in the academic and scientific
community for being unreliable, but I firmly believe in both it's principles and
and it's academic use when in moderation. “Imagine a world in which every
single person on the planet has free access to the sum of all human knowledge.”
a) This is the source from which I spliced together my method, using their method
analysis.
a) General information.
a) General information.
0.4
0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
Generic Control Generic Variable
Brand-Name Control Brand-Name Variable
Brand-Name
Control
Generic Control
Brand-Name
Variable
Generic Variable
Steam and humidity degrades aspirin, and it is possible for steam from one's shower to affect
aspirin in one's medicine cabinet. My experiment was able to detect these changes in aspirin
concentration, and precisely, too (within almost 10% coefficient of variation). Initial concentrations
of brand name and generic aspirin were found to be equivalent, but not necessarily “as advertised,”
for my experiment was relative, not quantitative, and I could not detect milligrams of aspirin.
According to my results, once steam is applied, generic aspirin degrades while brand-name retains
its structure.
As per practical application, keep your aspirin sealed, in its container, away from steam. If
you plan to consume the aspirin pretty immediately, generic aspirin will suffice. If you want your
aspirin to last many days in your medicine cabinet, brand-name is a much safer bet, as far as
potency is concered.
• Brand-name aspirin has something that makes it more durable that generic aspirin.