Science Fair 2009

By: Corey Chung

Big Question!!!

• Which dosage form of medication has the best effect? I will be comparing traditional tablets, gel caps, and liquid.

Explanation 4 Big Question

• I was visiting a pharmacy and observed some pain medications in display. Although they were all the same medication (example: Tylenol) they were being sold as tablet, gel caps, and, liquid. I wondered why they were being sold as different dosage form instead of one form that works the best. I began to question which dosage form works the fastest.

Hypothesis

• The rate the drug gets absorbed into our blood stream determines how fast and effective a medication becomes. In order for medications to be absorbed, medications need to go into solution. This is called dissolution. A solution is a homogeneous mixture of two or more substances and can be liquid in liquid, or solid in liquid. How fast a medication goes into solution will be determining factor how fast and effective a medication will get absorbed and work.

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• Comparing between traditional tablets, gel caps, and liquid, I hypothesize that liquid will go into solution the fastest, followed by gel caps, and traditional tablets. What makes this interesting is that it’s that it’s not always true that liquid will go into solution the fastest, for an example, if you mix oil and water, the two will separate out. The only way to be sure is to conduct an experiment to see how fast these medications go into solution.

Interesting Facts From Research

• How fast a drug work in human body is determined by how fast the drug gets absorbed into the blood stream.

• How fast a drug gets absorbed into the blood stream is determined by how fast the drug goes into solution.

Experiment

• -Materials• 3-240 ml glass flasks• 2-Tylenol Extra Strength Tablets (1000 mg)• 2-Tylenol Extra Strength Rapid Release gel capsules (1000 mg)• 31 ml-Children’s Liquid Tylenol (1000 mg)• 180 ml of vinegar (diluted acetic acid)• Glass stirring rod • Notebook• Pencil• Stopwatch

Procedures

1. Clean 3 glass flasks and stirring rod with soap and water and air dry.2. Number 3 glass flasks 1-3.3. Measure out 60ml of vinegar (acetic acid) in Flask #1 to represent stomach

acidity.4. Prepare notebook and stopwatch to measure dissolution rate. List three

columns in notebook; Flask #1 (Tylenol Extra Strength Tablets). Flask #2 (Tylenol Extra Strength Release Gel Capsules), and Flask #3 (Children’s Liquid Tylenol). Under the same columns, list beginning time (represents the time when medication and acetic acid is mixed) and ending time (representing the time when medication completely dissolves into solution).

5. Place 2 Extra Strength Tylenol tablets into Flask #1 and start the stopwatch. Stir the solution with the glass stirring rod to represent the stomach motility. Stop the stopwatch when medication dissolves into solution record the time that medication took to go into solution into the notebook. Clean the glass stirring rod with soap and water and air dry.

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6. Repeat steps 3-5 with 2 Tylenol Extra Strength Rapid Release Gel Capsules in Flask #2.

7. Repeat steps 3-5 with 31ml of Children’s Liquid Tylenol in Flask # 3.

Getting Fired Up

Tylenol Extra strength tabletsTime took to go into solution: 3:08 minutes

Tylenol Extra strength Rapid Release Gel CapsTime took to go into solution: 2:31 minutes

Tylenol LiquidTime took to go into solution: 0:23 minutes

Conclusion

• As hypothesized, liquid took the shortest time to go into solution (0:23 minutes), then the gelcaps (2:31 minutes), followed by tablets (3:08 minutes).

• The results conclude that the liquid will work the fastest, then the gelcaps, followed by tablets.

• Clinically, the time difference between different dosage forms are not that significant.

Reference

• Free Science Fair Project Ideas, Answers, & Tools for Serious Students; http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas.shtml?From=Tab

• Gennaro, Alfonso R. Remington’s Pharmaceutical Sciences18th Edition, Mack Publishing Company, Easton, Pennsylvania 1990

• Shargel, Leon. Applied Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics3rd Edition, Appleton & Lange 1993

• Martin, Alfred. Physical Pharmacy3rd Edition, Lea & Febiger 1983

• Oral Administration of Medication http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/oral+administration+of+medication