Chapter 126

Episode 126: The Otherworldly Aspirin Developer

Where in the world have you been, Istina?

I had scoured the factory and surrounding areas for quite a while, but finding Istina wasn’t easy.

It was absurd, but I even checked the rooftop thinking she might’ve gone there to smoke.

And there she was, lying flat on her back on the roof.

“Hey! Are you joking around?”

“Eek!”

Istina dropped her drink. Seriously? There she was sprawled out on the roof of the factory, lounging with a sunbed set up and an orange juice in hand.

Though not anymore—she quickly rose from the sunbed and bowed her head before me.

“I told you to relax, not to hide away and lie down in secret!”

“I’m sorry!”

“Come on, we’ve got work to do.”

“Yes…,” Istina muttered as she followed me with a gloomy expression.

Since we’re at the company headquarters, we might as well get some research done.

We did promise the Imperial Palace we’d develop more medicine after penicillin, and aspirin was next on the list. It’s often more useful than antibiotics in most cases.

How many patients need painkillers, anyway?

This facility has a lab that’s actually better than my lab at the Academy in some ways—it’s a proper chemistry lab.

Soon enough, we arrived at the pharmaceutical factory’s research lab. Wearing plague doctor masks, surgical gowns, and gloves, we stood by the experiment table.

“So, what are we doing today?”

“We’re making aspirin.”

Istina tilted her head.

“What’s aspirin?”

“You know…the kind of medicine made from willow trees.”

Aspirin is produced by treating willow wood with acidic substances. Though willow itself already has somewhat similar properties.

To simplify: Willow contains salicin or salicylic acid…

…and the chemical structure of aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid.

In short, if we extract salicylic acid from willow and then acetylate it, we can create a painkiller, fever reducer, and antiplatelet drug.

“Why are we wearing plague doctor masks?”

“Because today’s experiment involves using acids.”

Making aspirin is simpler than making penicillin, but it’s still complex.

“Today, we’ll react acetic acid from vinegar with salicylic acid from willow to produce acetylsalicylic acid.”

“Wait, what’s acetylsalicylic acid?”

“The medicine we’re making.”

For those paying attention, acetic acid reacts with salicylic acid to form acetylsalicylic acid—it’s just adding functional groups.

“Understood.”

Of course, the actual process is more complicated, but explaining this much should be enough for Istina. In reality, we use sulfuric acid as a catalyst for this reaction.

Istina filtered the crushed willow liquid through silk cloth and greaseproof paper. A translucent white liquid dripped into the beaker.

“Is the willow extract ready? Do we have to painstakingly extract aspirin like we did with penicillin, or is there another method?”

I shook my head.

“You can just boil aspirin.”

“Why?”

“It’s complicated. Penicillin is a high molecular chain made of hundreds of amino acids, so boiling would denature its protein structure due to ionic interactions between amino acids…”

“Huh?”

“Aspirin is made of only 21 atoms bonded covalently, so regular boiling won’t destroy it.”

Istina opened her notebook, then closed it again. Why didn’t she write anything down, again?

“Alright, I guess.”

“Aren’t you taking notes?”

“I don’t understand any of it…”

I glanced at Istina briefly.

“To put it simply…penicillin is far more complex than aspirin. Think of bacteria as a house, aspirin as a pebble, and penicillin as a brick.”

“So this one can be boiled?”

“Yep.”

We prepared the purified acetic acid.

Now, we just mix the willow extract with this and add a drop of sulfuric acid. Carefully holding the sulfuric acid bottle, Istina…

Klang!

The sulfuric acid bottle fell onto the desk and shattered, splashing sulfuric acid all over Istina’s hands and face.

That was chilling.

Luckily, thanks to the protective gear, it didn’t seem like she was seriously injured, though the affected parts were slowly discoloring.

Thank goodness the sulfuric acid wasn’t highly concentrated.

“Ack, I’m so sorry!”

“You need to be more careful! Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“If you weren’t wearing protection, you could’ve been badly injured. Go clean your mask and gown.”

Istina removed her mask and gloves, tidied up her gown, and left. That was a close call. Thankfully, there didn’t appear to be any injuries.

“Are you really okay?”

“Yes.”

While Istina was gone, I resumed the experiment. Synthesizing aspirin isn’t overly complicated; after all, it was successfully achieved in the 1800s historically.

Acetylsalicylic acid is much less soluble than acetic or salicylic acid, forming a precipitate reaction with visible white powder.

“Oh, I see aspirin!”

“Already?”

Exactly. I swirled the beaker, gathering the white powder toward one side.

“Teacher Istina, grab the alcohol lamp quickly and come here. Put on a fresh gown and mask.”

“Ah, yes!”

Not long after, Istina returned in new protective gear with the alcohol lamp lit. The beaker containing aspirin began to heat up…

Bubble bubble.

We quietly observed the beaker. Once all the water evaporates, we’ll be able to see the crystallized aspirin properly.

“What’s this medicine used for?”

“Fever reducer and painkiller. Also prevents platelet aggregation.”

“It does a lot, huh?”

It may seem like a lot, but they’re all interconnected. The circuits causing fever, pain, and platelet aggregation share common elements. Complicated to explain, though.

“At least using non-opium-based painkillers avoids opium’s side effects and pricing issues.”

“True.”

Using opium-based painkillers is quite burdensome for doctors due to risks like addiction and other side effects. Having aspirin makes things better.

“Almost done boiling.”

“Right.”

The water in the beaker had almost completely evaporated.

I scraped the remaining white aspirin powder from the bottom of the beaker with a spoon. About a thumbnail-sized amount of white powder remained.

“Looks like we’ve gotten some results. We should verify if it’s truly aspirin…Teacher Istina, did you document the method for making this?”

Istina vigorously nodded.

“I recorded it. Willow extract, purified acetic acid, a little sulfuric acid. Boil until white powder remains. Result: white powder.”

“Good job.”

Thinking about it now, I should’ve brought alchemists for today’s experiment, though it probably wouldn’t have mattered much.

Still, I should ask Luciana to study the production method further. Since I’ve provided the method, creating it is now up to the alchemists.

I’ll let Teacher Luciana know later.

The weekend passed quickly.

The penicillin production facility was bustling.

Penicillin production is proceeding successfully. We should still verify potential dangers through animal testing, though.

Proving mass production is possible is meaningful in itself. Selling these current results would naturally be ideal.

“What’s this?”

“Aspirin. This is the next medicine we’ll make once penicillin sales begin.”

“Won’t it be difficult? The facilities seem limited. We might need more equipment.”

“Equipment can always be added. Aspirin can withstand boiling. Its properties differ from penicillin’s.”

This means the process is far simpler.

Luciana nodded.

“Much easier, indeed. The components needed are just those two, right? A bit of sulfuric acid too?”

“Yeah.”

“No need for cultivation, right?”

“The main material is willow wood, so no cultivation is necessary, though we’ll need to harvest wood from willows. Still, willow shouldn’t be hard to obtain.”

“Then…we’ll try producing this soon and test it on animals.”

Developing penicillin was ridiculously complex, but aspirin is much simpler. Maybe it’s because the lab is fully equipped.

A few days passed quicker than expected.

The imperial princess’s carriage procession was ready to return to the Academy. Naturally, Istina and I would also return with the princess’s caravan.

I boarded the carriage returning to the Academy with Mint. Mint looked sleepy, and the princess leaned her head against my shoulder, rubbing her eyes.

“I visited the factory yesterday. Today, I refrained from wandering around to avoid disturbing everyone’s work, so I spent the day reading books.”

“Did you?”

“It was boring all day. Nothing to do. What were you doing today, teacher? I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“I was in the lab.”

The princess looked out the carriage window.

“Are we leaving now?”

“Yes.”

“Once we return to the Academy, I’ll visit your lab every day this time. Winter is coming soon, so we should stick together.”

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