Acetaminophen is a commonly used over-the-counter medicine counted on for quick alleviation of pain symptoms. This lab experiment allows for the spectrophotometric analysis of the total amount of acetaminophen as well as the rate of release of acetaminophen from commonly advertised gel capsules using a system involving the oxidation of acetaminophen by iron(III) ions followed by the complexation of the resulting iron(II) ions with 1,10-phenanthroline to form a deep red-orange colored complex. The colored complex is monitored, and by using a calibration curve and Beer's Law, the total amount of acetaminophen and the rate of release of acetaminophen are determined. This poster will describe the experiment in more detail, as well as the results of trials of the experiment with general chemistry students.

Spectrophotometric determination of acetaminophen content and release time from over-the-counter gel capsules

245th National Meeting (2013)

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