Exploring the Effect of Temperature on the Concentration of Salicylic Acid in Acetylsalicylic Acid

Aspirin is used for a variety of reasons, from reducing fever to providing relief for mild pain associated with headaches, menstrual cramps, and arthritis. Its versatility leads to aspirin tablets being present in almost every home, which makes the consequences of their mishandling that much more impactful. Generally, patients are instructed not to store aspirin in areas exposed to excess heat and humidity as they cause aspirin to break down into salicylic acid and acetic acid. Salicylic acid is the substance responsible for aspirin’s medicinal properties, and fluctuations in its concentration can lead to dosage inaccuracies. This leads to questions and concerns about the correlation between temperature and the concentration of salicylic acid within hydrolyzed aspirin. Within this paper, it was found that there is a directly proportional relationship between temperature and the concentration of salicylic acid in acetylsalicylic, as the concentration steadily increases as the temperature increases.