PILLS AND THEIR
COATINGS
Samantha Gonzalez
Samantha Franco
Period 1
11/6/10
Problem Statement:
How long does it take for certain pills to dissolve in
the human body?
Hypothesis:
If the coating of the pill contains a thicker layer and
is made up of chemicals and materials more
resistant to stomach acid, then that pill will take
longer to dissolve than the rest.
Materials:
Carbonated Water Measuring cup
Water Spoon
Carbonated Sweet Water
Timer
White wine
Advil/ Ibuprofen
Tylenol
Walgreen’s brand
Three cups
Labels
Procedures:
1. Organize the table or working space with all the
materials needed.
2. Prepare stomach acid for each of the three cups.
3. Drop the pills individually and start a timer for each.
4. Observe and collect data as the pills begin to
dissolve.
5. Stop the timer once the pill, the timer is set to,
dissolves.
6. Record data and wait for the other pills to dissolve
completely.
Data and Observations:
Stomach Stimulant
Types of Pills Time it took to dissolve (min/sec)
Tylenol 1:47
Walgreens 4:33
Advil 45:32
• Tylenol within seconds of placement into the stomach stimulant it began to fizz.
• Walgreens split after about 3 minutes and all the medication inside spewed out and
was dissolved, the caps remained intact.
• Advil did not look different…until it flattened out.
Data and Observations (Cont.)
Demonstrated how the pill, the Walgreen’s brand, reacted once the pill touched the water,
you can see a stream of medication spewing out from the center.
Results:
In this experiment Tylenol took less time to dissolve,
because it is a caplet. The second to last one is the
Walgreen’s brand, this is because the thickness of
the pill coating is less. While the Advil one which
took the longest is thicker and has more gel. In the
video you can see how the Walgreen’s brand
dissolves through a breach in the capsule. That
demonstrates how the medication is released.
Conclusion:
Overall the experiment proved that the pill with no gel coating
was the fastest and the one with less amount of coating was the
second fastest. The pills with the thickest of coatings will take a lot
longer to dissolve because they are more intense, in the sense of
not being able to dissolve faster. This will help the people taking
the pills because they will know how much time it usually takes for
it to dissolve and they can subtract that to the hours they have to
wait until the next pill. Doctors can benefit with this experiment,
they can inform their patients of the time it takes to dissolve, and
how strong certain ingredients are that even the stomach acids
have a hard time dissolving. In this experiment, my mom assisted
my partner and I with buying the supplies and providing a space
to work. Our experiment can be said to be a success, our
hypothesis was supported towards our side and the results were
astonishing.
Background Information:
Our project is called Analysis of pill coatings. The most needed materials are the
pills and the stimulated stomach acid. A pill is a small, round, solid pharmacological
oral dosage form that was in use before the advent of tablets and capsules. Pills
are made by mixing the active ingredients with an excipient such as glucose syrup in
a mortar and pestle to form a paste, then rolling the mass into a long cylindrical
shape (called a "pipe"), and dividing it into equal portions, which are then rolled
into balls, and often coated with sugar to make them more palatable. In everyday
usage, tablets, capsules, and caplets are often referred to as "pills" collectively. The
pills we will be using are Advil and keratin coated pills. Advil is a brand of
ibuprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). And Keratin coated
pills; Keratin is a protein substance, which forms the chief part of horns, hoofs,
feathers, wool, etc. It contains the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and
sulphur, the latter being in very loose combination, and in variable proportions.
Macerating horn shavings for some days in a mixture of equal parts of ether and
alcohol, decanting the liquid, and washing the residue with warm water may obtain
keratin. Now that I have gone over the pills, the stomach acid is next.
Background Information (Cont.)
Gastric acid is a secretion produced in the stomach. It is one of the main solutions
secreted, together with several enzymes and intrinsic factors. Chemically it is an acid
solution with a pH of 1 to 2 in the stomach lumen, consisting mainly of hydrochloric
acid (HCl) (around 0.5%, or 5000 parts per million), and large quantities of
potassium chloride (KCl) and sodium chloride (NaCl). The Stomach acid stimulator is
with the following materials; carbonated water, water, carbonated sweet water, and
white wine. Carbonated water is plain water into which carbon dioxide gas has
been dissolved, and is the major and defining component of carbonated soft drinks.
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. Its molecule contains
one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a
liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice,
and gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Carbonated sweet water is water that is
not from the sea and does not contain a high percentage of salt is classified as
sweet water in which carbon dioxide gas has also been dissolved. And lastly, White
wine is an alcoholic beverage, typically made of fermented grape juice.
Background Information (Cont.)
Professional scientists may need a pH that more accurately represents the stomach
environment, while schoolchildren who are testing the efficacy of antacids could use
everyday household chemicals to replicate stomach acid, but since ours is just a
school experiment and we don’t have all the materials we use this. In the stomach,
there is heat and acid to help digest things and
break down pills. In any case, if
you drink a cup of water with your analgesic of choice, you will dilute the acid in the
stomach significantly and reduce the temperature as well. The stomach is a muscular,
hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal, which functions as the primary organ
of the digestive tract. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following
mastication. An acid in common usage is a substance that tastes sour, reacts with
metals and carbonates, turns blue litmus paper red, and has a pH less than 7.0 in its
standard state. Examples include acetic acid (in vinegar) and sulfuric acid (used in
car batteries).
Background Information (Cont.)
Acids can occur in solid, liquid or gaseous form, depending on the temperature.
They can exist as pure substances or in solution. Chemicals or substances having the
property of an acid are said to be acidic. In our project depending on what the pill
is, it should take anywhere from 10-30 minutes to dissolve and be absorbed by
your body (stomach simulator).