Aspirin

I. Introduction

Aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid is a derivative of salicylic acid that is a mild, non-narcotic analgesic useful in the relief of headache, muscle, and joint aches. The drug works by inhibiting the production of prostaglandins, body chemicals that are necessary for blood clotting and which also sensitize nerve endings to pain.

A German chemist named Felix Hoffman is credited with being the first to synthesize aspirin in 1897. Hoffman's father had severe arthritis but could not tolerate salicylic acid he was taking for pain relief. Friedrich Bayer, the employer of Hoffman, patented the name and began marketing the product in 1899. It was a huge success and sales grew rapidly. Bayer's company set up by himself, is generally reckoned to have been the first pharmaceutical company, and the production of aspirin is generally accepted to have laid the foundation of the modern pharmaceutical industry

Aspirin can be prepared by the reaction of acetic anhydride and salicylic acid in the presence of an inorganic acid as a catalyst. The reaction takes place at the phenol functional group.

In this series of experiment, salicylic acid will undergo organic