PH – DEGREE OF ACIDITY

Course objective

After the end of this lesson, you will be able to :

 Understand the meaning of PH

 Calculate the degree of acidity of basicity
 Determine the degree of ionization for drugs
 ACIDITY MEASURING

The pH of a solution:
• Is a measure of the molar concentration of hydrogen ions
in the solution
• Is a measure of the acidity or basicity of the solution.
The letters pH stands for "power of hydrogen" and the
numerical value is defined as the negative base 10
logarithm of the molar concentration of hydrogen ions
.
pH = -log10[H+]
POH=-log [OH-]
 ACIDITY MEASURING

HA → H+ + A−
Acid strength is the tendency of an acid,
symbolized by the chemical formula HA,
to dissociate into a proton, H+, and an
anion, A−.
The dissociation of a strong acid in
solution is effectively complete.
Examples of strong acids are hydrochloric
acid (HCl), nitric acid (HNO3) and
sulfuric acid (H2SO4).
 ACIDITY MEASURING

HA ⇌ H+ + A−.
A weak acid is only partially dissociated,
with both the undissociated acid and its
dissociation products being present, in
solution, in equilibrium with each other.

Acetic acid (CH3COOH) is an example of

a weak acid. The strength of a weak acid
is quantified by its acid dissociation
constant, pKa value.
 ACIDITY MEASURING

Acids and bases:

The aim in studying acids and bases is because most of
the drugs that we use are weak acids and bases.
The acid: a substance that is capable of donating a
proton (hydrogen ion) to another substance..
The base: a molecule in an aqueous solution that can
accept protons o.
Ex. NH3 donates proton when it is placed in water
NH3 H2O NH4
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General rules for logarithms we use them during problem solving.

1- Log A.B= log A+ log B.
2- Log A/B = log A – log B.
3- -log A = logA-1 = log 1/A.
4- Log Ab= b log A.
5- Log 10=1, log 100=2.
6- PH= - log [H+].
7- Log A = 10 –log A=A.
Liquid state

1- What is the degree of acidity of HCl solution if the concentration is 0.05 mole/liter?
Note: log10= 1 Log 5= 0.7
HCl H +C
PH = -log [H+]
PH = -log [0.05]
PH = -log [5 x 100]
PH = - [log5 + log10 -2]
PH = - [log5 + [-2 x log10]]
PH = - [0.7 + [-2 x 1 ] ]
PH = - [0.7 -2].
PH = - [-1.3] = 1.3
 PH calculation

Calculating pH examples:
Find the pH of a 0.0025 M HCl solution. The HCl is a strong acid and is 100% ionized in
water.

The hydronium ion concentration is 0.0025 M. Thus:

pH = - log (0.0025) = - ( - 2.60) = 2.60

Calculating the Hydronium Ion Concentration from pH

The hydronium ion concentration can be found from the pH by the reverse of the
mathematical operation employed to find the pH.

[H3O+] = 10-pH or [H3O+] = antilog (- pH)

Example: What is the hydronium ion concentration in a solution that has a pH of 8.34?

8.34 = - log [H3O+]

- 8.34 = log [H3O+]
[H3O+] = 10^-8.34 = 4.57 x 10^-9 M
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Calculating pOH
To calculate the pOH of a solution you need to know the concentration of the hydroxide ion in moles per liter (molarity). The pOH is
then calculated using the expression:

pOH = - log [OH-]

Example: What is the pOH of a solution that has a hydroxide ion concentration of 4.82 x 10-5 M?

pOH = - log [4.82 x 10^-5] = - ( - 4.32) = 4.32

Calculating the Hydroxide Ion Concentration from pOH

The hydroxide ion concentration can be found from the pOH by the reverse mathematical operation employed to find the pOH.

[OH-] = 10-pOH or [OH-] = antilog ( - pOH)

Example: What is the hydroxide ion concentration in a solution that has a pOH of 5.70?

5.70 = - log [OH-]

-5.70 = log[OH-]
[OH-] = 10-5.70 = 2.00 x 10-6 M
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Relationship Between pH and pOH

The pH and pOH of a water solution at 25oC are related by the following equation.

pH + pOH = 14

Example: A solution has a pOH of 11.76. What is the pH of this solution?

pH = 14 - pOH = 14 - 11.76 = 2.24
Liquid state

2- If the pH of a solution equals to 2 [PH = 2] then what is its hydrogen ion concentration?
PH = -log [H+],
2 = -log [H+],
10 2= 10 -log [H+]
10 2=1/ [H+],
[H+] = 10 -2
[H+] = 1/10 2 = 0.01 mole/liter.
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Equations used to determine the pH of

weak acid/weak bases are :
1. pH= pKa +log [salt ]/[acid]
2. pH= pKb +log [salt ]/[base]
3. pH= pKa +log [base]/[salt]
4. pH+POH=14
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• Most drugs are weak acids or bases that are present in solution as both the ionized and unionized forms.

• Ionized molecules are usually unable to penetrate lipid cell membranes because they are hydrophilic
and poorly lipid soluble.

• Unionized molecules are usually lipid soluble and can diffuse across cell membranes.

• 'Like is unionized in like', meaning that a weak acid will be most unionized in a fluid with an acidic pH
and a weak base will be most unionized in a fluid with a basic pH. Under most circumstances,
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the transmembrane distribution of a weak acid or base is determined by its acidic dissociation constant
(pKa) and by the pH gradient across the membrane.
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The proportions of the drug in each state are calculated using the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation. For a
weak acid:

pH = pKa + log(A-/HA),
where A- is the ionized drug and HA the unionized drug. For a weak base:

pH = pKa + log(B/HB+),
where B is the unionized drug and HB+ is the ionized drug.

Thus, when the local pH is equal to the pKa of the drug, the drug will be 50% ionized and 50% unionized (log 1 =
0).
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THANK YOU