SYNTHESIS OF PARACETAMOL IN A MICROWAVE OVEN

Abstract

Paracetamol (acetaminophen) is a widely used drug worldwide that has antipyretic and analgesic effects. It is effective for fever and mild to moderate pain such as headache, back pain or muscle pain. Paracetamol is usually well tolerated and causes few side effects. Having an analgesic effect, paracetamol is an integral part of a number of medications.

Environment protection has recently become of paramount importance due to the constant increase in the amount of toxic and dangerous pollutants generated. Green chemistry, also known as "environmentally friendly chemistry” is an emerging field of chemistry that focuses on four principles: reuse, reduction, recycling and recovery. The main goal of green chemistry is to minimize the use of toxic solvents and not to use hazardous materials in chemical synthesis. The microwave oven is the most important tool for the development of green chemistry. Recently, microwave radiation (ultra-high frequency radiation) has been used to synthesize drugs. It allows these reactions to be carried out with high speed and efficiency, which reduces the cost of drug production.

This paper describes a method for the synthesis of paracetamol based on the acylation of p-aminophenol with acetic anhydride in the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst H-clinoptilolite. The synthesis was carried out in a microwave oven "Electronics SP23 ZIL" (Russia), the frequency was 2450 MHz, which significantly reduced the reaction time and increased its yield. It has been found that exposure to microwave radiation significantly accelerates the reaction and increases the yield of paracetamol.

To establish the individuality of the resulting paracetamol, it is proposed to use three types of eluents in thin-layer chromatography. The identification of the isolated product was performed using infrared (Specord IR-75) and 1H NMR (Varian USA Mercury Plus (300 MHz)) spectroscopy.