Aspirin

By Chris Green

Aspirin
Also known as acetylsalicylic acid

Used as an analgesic (painkiller)

Antipyretic (anti-fever) Anti-inflammatory (NSAID)

non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Side Effects
Contraindications (should not be taken if

allergic to ibuprofen, can cause stomach bleeding) Gastrointestinal (can cause Gastrointestinal bleeding Has the possibility to cause tinnitus Reyes Syndrome (liver and brain swelling)

Side Effects
Can cause hives, swelling and headaches

Angioedema (swelling of skin tissue)

Cerebral microbleeds which could cause

Alzheimer's.

Development
In the 19th century scientists attempted to

isolate and purify the active components of medicines including willow bark. Brugnatelli and Fontana failed in 1826. Joseph Buchner obtained salicin crystals in 1828. In 1838, Raffaele Piria discovered a method of obtaining more potent acid from willow extract, which he named Salicylic acid.

Developments
In the middle of the 19th century the use of

Salicylic acid became more frequent. In the 1890s Duisberg began to expand his drug research program, he set up a team which created new pharmaceutical drugs, over the following 10 years they would discover acetylsalicylic acid. In 1897 Hoffman attempted to find a less irritating substitute for salicylic acid.

Developments
Charles Frederic Gerhardt was the first to

prepare acetylsalicylic acid in 1853. Bayer was not the first to sell aspirin commercially but he insists that the active ingredient was synthesised for the first time in one of his labs.

Aspirin
The synthesis of aspirin is called an

esterification. Salicylic acid is treated with acetic anhydride, an acid derivative, causing a chemical reaction that turns salicylic acid's hydroxyl group into an ester group

 This process yields aspirin and acetic acid,

which is considered a by-product of this reaction. Small amounts of sulphuric acid (and occasionally phosphoric acid) are almost always used as a catalyst. This method is commonly employed in undergraduate teaching labs.

Clinical Trials
A clinical trial was done to test if aspirin

reduced menstrual pain but the results showed that it was not better than ibuprofen. A clinical trial was also done to find out that it was best to take aspirin at the first sign of headaches rather than letting them manifest into a migraine.