EXPERIMENT 5 : THE SIMULTANEOUS DETERMINATION OF CAFFEINE

AND ACETYLSALICYLIC ACID IN AN ANALGESIC BY ULTRAVIOLET

SPECTROPHOTOMETER.
OBJECTIVE : To determine the amount concentration of caffeine and acetylsalicylic
acid in an analgesic by ultraviolet spectrophotometer.
INTRODUCTION
Ultravioletvisible spectroscopy or ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry (UVVis or UV/Vis) refers to absorption spectroscopy or reflectance spectroscopy
in the ultraviolet-visible spectral region. This means it uses light in the visible
and adjacent (near-UV and near-infrared [NIR]) ranges. The absorption or
reflectance in the visible range directly affects the perceived color of the
chemicals involved. In this region of the electromagnetic spectrum,
molecules undergo electronic transitions. This technique is complementary
to fluorescence spectroscopy, in that fluorescence deals with transitions from
the excited state to the ground state, while absorption measures transitions
from the ground state to the excited state.
UV/Vis spectroscopy is routinely used in analytical chemistry for
the quantitative determination of different analytes, such astransition
metal ions,
highly conjugated organic
compounds,
and
biological
macromolecules. Spectroscopic analysis is commonly carried out in solutions
but solids and gases may also be studied. While interaction with infrared
light causes molecules to undergo vibrational transitions, the shorter
wavelength, higher energy radiation in the UV (200-400 nm) and visible
(400-700 nm) range of the electromagnetic spectrum causes many organic
molecules to undergo electronic transitions. What this means is that when
the energy from UV or visible light is absorbed by a molecule, one of its
electrons jumps from a lower energy to a higher energy molecular orbital.
A UV/Vis spectrophotometer may be used as a detector for HPLC. The
presence of an analyte gives a response assumed to be proportional to the
concentration. For accurate results, the instrument's response to the analyte
in the unknown should be compared with the response to a standard; this is
very similar to the use of calibration curves. The response (e.g., peak height)
for a particular concentration is known as the response factor.
The simplest instrument for molecular UV/Vis absorption is a filter
photometer, which uses an absorption or interference filter to isolate a band

of radiation. The filter is placed between the source and the sample to
prevent the sample from decomposing when exposed to higher energy
radiation. A filter photometer has a single optical path between the source
and detector, and is called a single-beam instrument. The instrument is
calibrated to 0% T while using a shutter to block the source radiation from
the detector. After opening the shutter, the instrument is calibrated to 100%
T using an appropriate blank. The blank is then replaced with the sample and
its transmittance measured. Because the sources incident power and the
sensitivity of the detector vary with wavelength, the photometer must be
recalibrated whenever the filter is changed. Photometers have the
advantage of being relatively inexpensive, rugged, and easy to maintain.
The limitations of fixed-wavelength, single-beam spectrophotometers are
minimized by using a double-beam spectrophotometer. A chopper controls
the radiations path, alternating it between the sample, the blank, and a
shutter. The signal processor uses the choppers known speed of rotation to
resolve the signal reaching the detector into the transmission of the
blank, P0, and the sample, PT. By including an opaque surface as a shutter, it
is possible to continuously adjust 0% T. The effective bandwidth of a doublebeam spectrophotometer is controlled by adjusting the monochromators
entrance and exit slits. Effective bandwidths of 0.23.0 nm are common. A
scanning monochromator allows for the automated recording of spectra.
Double-beam instruments are more versatile than single-beam instruments,
being useful for both quantitative and qualitative analyses, but also are more
expensive.
Diode Array Spectrometer is an instrument with a single detector can
monitor only one wavelength at a time. If a single photomultiplier is replaced
with many photodiodes, the resulting array of detectors can be used to
record an entire spectrum simultaneously in as little as 0.1 s. In a diode array
spectrometer the source radiation passes through the sample and is
dispersed by a grating. The photodiode array is situated at the gratings focal
plane, with each diode recording the radiant power over a narrow range of
wavelengths. A full monochromator is replaced with just a grating that
caused a diode array spectrometer small and compact.
Samples for UV/Vis spectrophotometry are most often liquids, although the
absorbance of gases and even of solids can also be measured. Samples are
typically placed in atransparent cell, known as a cuvette. Cuvettes are
typically rectangular in shape, commonly with an internal width of 1 cm.

(This width becomes the path length (L) in the Beer-Lambert law.) Test
tubes can also be used as cuvettes in some instruments. The type of sample
container used must allow radiation to pass over the spectral region of
interest. The most widely applicable cuvettes are made of high quality fused
silica or quartz glass because these are transparent throughout the UV,
visible and near infrared regions. Glass and plastic cuvettes are also
common, although glass and most plastics absorb in the UV, which limits
their usefulness to visible wavelengths
Many molecules absorb ultraviolet or visible light. The absorbance of a
solution increases as attenuation of the beam increases. Absorbance is
directly proportional to the path length (b) and the concentration (c) of the
absorbing species. Beer's Law states that by the equation :
A = log (P/P) = abc
Where a is a proportionality constant called absorptivity and b is the path
length of the light beam though the absorbing medium. When c is expressed
in M (moles per liter) and b in cm. Then a is called the molar absorptivity and
is given the special symbol with the units L cm-1 mol-1. Thus,
A = bc
Different molecules absorb radiation of different wavelengths. An absorption
spectrum will show a number of absorption bands corresponding to structural
groups within the molecule. For example, the absorption that is observed in
the UV region for the carbonyl group in acetone is of the same wavelength as
the absorption from the carbonyl group in diethyl ketone.
The absorption of UV or visible radiation corresponds to the excitation of
outer electrons. There are three types of electronic transition that can be
considered which are the transition involving p, s, and n electrons, the
transitions involving charge-transfer electrons and the transition
involving d and f electrons. When an atom or molecule absorbs energy,
electrons are promoted from their ground state to an excited state. In a
molecule, the atoms can rotate and vibrate with respect to each other. These
vibrations and rotations also have discrete energy levels, which can be
considered as being packed on top of each electronic level.
This experiment is aimed to determine the amount of caffeine and acetyl
salicyclic acid in an analgesic tablet. It require different methods of analysis

for each component. Often the simultaneous analysis of complex multicomponent can be done by constructing a matrix of the cross-product of the
standard scans with the sample scan. In the final step it need to calculate the
actual sample component concentrations from the known concentrations in
each standard. The total absorbance of a solution at a given wavelength is
equal to the sum of the absorbance of individual components present in the
solution and is given by the following equation :
A

total

= A1 + A2 = xbcx + ybcy

http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Core/Organic_Chemistry/Organic_Chemistry_With_a_Biological_Emphasis/Chapter_04
%3A_Structure_Determination_I/Section_4.3%3A_Ultraviolet_and_visible_spectroscopy ultraviolet and visible
spectroscopy chemwiki
RESULT

Preparation of standard solution

Standa
rd
1

Concentration
(M)
25x10-6

50x10-6

75x10-6

100x10-6

125x10-6

Caffeine

Acetyl salicylic acid

M1V1 = M2V2
(25x10-3)(V1) = (25x10-6)
(50mL)
V1 = 0.5mL
M1V1 = M2V2
(25x10-3)(V1) = (50x10-6)
(50mL)
V1 = 1.0mL
M1V1 = M2V2
(25x10-3)(V1) = (75x10-6)
(50mL)
V1 = 1.5mL
M1V1 = M2V2
(25x10-3)(V1) = (100x10-6)
(50mL)
V1 = 2.0mL
M1V1 = M2V2
(25x10-3)(V1) = (125x10-6)
(50mL)
V1 = 2.5mL

M1V1 = M2V2
(25x10-3)(V1) = (25x10-6)(50mL)
V1 = 0.5mL
M1V1 = M2V2
(25x10-3)(V1) = (50x10-6)(50mL)
V1 = 1.0mL
M1V1 = M2V2
(25x10-3)(V1) = (75x10-6)(50mL)
V1 = 1.5mL
M1V1 = M2V2
(25x10-3)(V1) = (100x10-6)
(50mL)
V1 = 2.0mL
M1V1 = M2V2
(25x10-3)(V1) = (125x10-6)
(50mL)
V1 = 2.5mL

Standard calibration for caffeine

Concentration
(M)
25x10-6
50x10-6
75x10-6

Wavelength
(mn)
212
279
272

Absorbance
0.030
0.135
0.405

Transition
n *
n *
n *

100x10-6
125x10-6

272
281

1.301
1.487

n *
n *

Standard calibration for acetyl salicylic acid

Concentration
(M)
25x10-6
50x10-6
75x10-6
100x10-6
125x10-6

Wavelength
(mn)
224
298
298
278
276

Absorbance
0.107
0.123
0.093
0.211
0.297

Transition
n
n
n
n
n

*
*
*
*
*

Standard Analgesic tablet

Sample
1
2
3

Wavelength (mn)
249.50
250
250

Graph of standard calibration caffeine.

Absorbance
1.751
1.784
1.669

Concentration
(M)
25x10-6
50x10-6
75x10-6
100x10-6
125x10-6

Absorbanc
e
0.030
0.135
0.405
1.301
1.487

Absorbance against Concentration

Absorbance

1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0

f(x) = 16320x - 0.55

R = 0.91

Concentration

Graph of standard calibration acetyl salicylic acid.

Concentration
(M)
25x10-6
50x10-6
75x10-6
100x10-6
125x10-6

Absorbanc
e
0.107
0.123
0.093
0.211
0.297

Absorbance against Concentration

0.35
0.3
0.25

f(x) = 1872x + 0.03

R = 0.73

0.2
Absorbance

0.15
0.1
0.05
0

Concentration (M)

Concentration (M)
Analgesic sample 1
Analgesic sample 2

Caffeine

Acetylsalicylic acid

Analgesic sample 3