Soaps, Detergents, and Pharmaceuticals Lecture Flashcards

Vocabulary style flashcards covering soaps, saponification, industrial detergent chemistry, quality control tests, classification of pharmaceuticals, and tablet manufacturing methods from lecture notes.

Soaps

Sodium or potassium salts of long chain fatty acids such as oleic, steric, lauric, and palmitic acid, present in fats and oils in the form of glycerides.

Hard soaps

Sodium salts of long chain fatty acids sourced mainly from tallow, animal fats, and coconut oils that are moderately soluble in water and do not lather easily.

Soft soaps

Potassium salts of long chain fatty acids derived from linseed oil, castor oil, and vegetable oils that dissolve quickly, lather readily, and perform better in cleansing.

Saponification

The process of making soap by the alkaline hydrolysis of vegetable or animal fats/oils to yield glycerol and fatty acid salts.

Industrial soaps

Key components of lubricating greases and thickeners made from metallic soaps like calcium, magnesium, aluminum, zinc, copper, or lead.

Resin

A plant product containing abietic acid added to soap formulations to accelerate lather formation, enhance cleansing action, and soften hard soaps.

Salting out

The process during full boiled soap making where sodium chloride ($\text{NaCl}$) is added to separate the soap mixture, causing soap to rise to the top and glycerin to settle at the bottom.

Superfatting agents

Soap additives such as lanolin added to replenish skin lipids removed by soap action, preventing skin from becoming rough and dry.

Cold Process (Soap Manufacturing)

An elementary room-temperature batch soap making process where glycerine is retained in the soap and full saponification/curing takes several weeks.

Semi-boiled Process

A soap production process using heated coils at $70\text{--}90\,^\circ\text{C}$ to accelerate saponification, releasing no effluent and allowing better additive integration.

Full boiled process (Kettle process)

A soap manufacturing method conducted at temperatures up to $100\,^\circ\text{C}$ where glycerin is separated from soap using sodium chloride salting out.

Detergents

Sodium salts of long chain alkyl hydrogen sulphate or long chain alkylbenzene sulphonic acids composed of surfactants and subsidiary ingredients like builders and fillers.

Micelles

Aggregates formed by soap or detergent molecules in aqueous solutions that reach colloidal particle dimensions, facilitating the emulsification of oily dirt.

Builder

A detergent additive (such as phosphates or zeolites) that enhances surfactant performance by sequestering or exchanging hardness ions ($\text{Ca}^{2+}$, $\text{Mg}^{2+}$), providing alkalinity, and suspending soil.

Anionic surfactants

Surfactants whose cleansing properties reside in a long chain anion in solution, such as sulfated fatty alcohols.

Non-Ionic Surfactants

Polyethylene oxide derivatives that lack ionic charges, solvate in water through hydrogen bonding, and serve as non-ionizing grease emulsifiers.

Amphoteric (Zwitter) surfactants

Surfactants containing both cationic (basic nitrogen) and anionic (carboxyl or sulphonyl) groups, such as alkyloamide, used for mild cosmetics and shampoos.

Cationic surfactants

Specialty surfactants featuring a cationic nitrogen head and a long hydrophobic chain, noted for antistatic, germicidal, and fabric softening qualities.

Acid value test

A quality control test determining free acid content in fat, measured by the amount of $\text{KOH}$ needed for neutralization.

Iodine value test

A quality control metric for unsaturation, calculated as the grams of iodine absorbed by $100\,g$ of oil.

Narcotic analgesics

Pain-relieving drugs such as morphine used for severe pain that interact with opiate receptors, possess physical dependence liability, and risk respiratory depression.

Non-narcotic analgesics

Non-addictive, non-prescription antipyretic pain relievers such as aspirin and paracetamol used for mild pain and arthritis symptoms.

Antiseptics

Germ-killing chemical agents formulated for application directly to living body tissue, such as Dettol (chloroxylenol and terpineol).

Disinfectants

Germicidal chemicals meant for application strictly to non-living surfaces, such as chlorine and phenol solutions.

Anti-fertility drugs

Contraceptive chemical agents composed of synthetic progesterone or progesterone-estrogen combinations (e.g., Norethisterone) that suppress pregnancy by inhibiting ovulation.

Antidepressants

Psychotherapeutic agents used to treat mood disorders, originating with imipramine in 1959 and progressing to newer agents like fluoxetine.

Antihistamines

Drugs used for symptomatic relief of allergic conditions by blocking immune system histamine action, including sedating types (bromopheniramine) and non-sedating types (astemizole, terfanadine).

ACE Inhibitors

Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (e.g., capropril, enalapril) that prevent conversion of Angiotensin 1 to Angiotensin 2 to prevent vasoconstriction and lower blood pressure.

Calcium Channel Blockers

Antihypertensive agents (e.g., diltiazem, nifedipine) that slow calcium influx into arterial walls, reducing heart workload and dilating blood vessels.

Antineoplastics

Cancer chemotherapy agents categorized into alkylating agents (cyclophosphamide), antimetabolites (fluoroacil), and platinum coordination complexes (cis-platin).

Antiulcers

Inhibitors of gastric acid secretion used to treat peptic ulcers, classified into antacids, anticholinergics, and H2 receptor antagonists.

Antipsychotics

Drugs used to manage serious psychiatric illnesses (e.g., clozapine), associated with potential neurological side effects like restlessness and Parkinsonism.

Antiviral agents

Highly selective anti-infective medications targeting viral replication dependent on host cellular machinery, such as Zidovudine (HIV/AIDS) and Acyclovir (herpes).

Diuretics

Agents (e.g., spironolactone, Amidoride, furosemide) that increase renal urine output to manage edema in congestive heart failure and reduce blood pressure.

Transdermal Drug Delivery System (TDDS)

A patch-based dosage design that delivers active drugs through skin layers into systemic circulation at a controlled rate, bypassing gastrointestinal degradation and hepatic first-pass metabolism.

Osmotic Drug Delivery System

An advanced drug release mechanism encased in a semi-permeable membrane that utilises osmotic pressure gradients to pump active drug out through laser-drilled orifices at a constant rate.

Wet Granulation

A tablet manufacturing method where active drug and excipients are agglomerated using a liquid binder, wet-screened, dried, dry-sized, and compressed.

Dry Granulation

A tablet preparation method where dry powder mixtures are compacted into large pieces or slugs via roller compaction or slugging and milled into granules without liquid binders or drying heat.

Direct Compression

The simplest tableting method involving direct compaction of blended powder excipients and API without modifying particle size via granulation.