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A pharmacist dissolved a few milligrams of a new antibiotic drug into exactly 100 ml of
distilled water and placed the solution in a refrigerator (50C). At various time intervals the
pharmacist removed a 10-mL aliquot from the solution and measured the amount of drug
contained in each aliquot. The following data were obtained:
0.5 84.5
1.0 81.2
2.0 74.5
4.0 61.0
6.0 48.0
8.0 35.0
12.0 8.7
a. Is the decomposition of this antibiotic a first-order or zero-order process?
b. What is the rate of decomposition of this antibiotic?
c. How many milligrams of antibiotics were in the original solution prepared by the
pharmacist?
d. Give the equation for the line that best fits the experimental data.
∆X
It is always best to plot the data. Obtain a regression line(i.e.,the line of best fit), then use points C
and t from that line.
–kO = 60 – 80
4.2–1.2
kO = 6.67 µg/mL hr
c. By extrapolation:
At tO, Co = 87.5µg/mL
= –6.67 t + 87.5
a. Assuming first-order kinetics, when will the drug decline to one half of the original
concentration?
b. Assuming zero-order kinetics, when will the drug decline to one half of the original
concentration?
Given:
C(mg/mL) t(days)
300 0
75 30
a. log C = – kt + log CO
2.3
log 75 = – 30k + log 300
2.3
k = 0.046 days –1
b. Method I
300 mg/mL = Co at t = 0
75 mg/mL = C at t = 30 days
225 mg/mL = difference between initial and final drug concentration
kO = 225 mg /mL
30 days
= 7.5 mg/mL day
The time, t 1/2, for the drug to decompose to ½ CO (from 300 to 150 mg/mL) is calculated by
Method 2: Method 3:
At t1/2 value of 20 days may be obtained directly from the graph by plotting C against t on
rectangular coordinates.
How many half-lives (t ½) would it take for 99.9% of any initial concentration of a drug to
decompose? Assume first-order kinetics?
Method I
mg/mL no. of half-lives mg/ml no. of half lives
1000 0 15.6 6
500 1 7.81 7
250 2 3.91 8
125 3 1.95 9
62.5 4 0.98 10
31.3 5
It takes approximately 10 half lives to eliminate all but 0.1% of the original concentration of drug.
Method 2
t 1/2 = 0.693
k
Then
k = 0.693
t1/2
log C = – kt + log Co
2.3
2.3
t = 9.9 t1/2
t = 9.96 t1/2