The microcrystalline test is a procedure used by the scientists to identify the substances with birefringent property. The scientist adds a drop of the suspected substance to a chemical on a slide. The mixture will begin to form crystals. Each type of drug has an individual crystal pattern when seen under a polarized light microscope (PLM).
I was cleaning up my medicine cabinet and found a bottle of expired ibuprofen. Instead of throwing it away, I decided to try it out under PLM. The medicine has brown coating, it was easily removed by rinse off with water. The interior is crystal white. I dissolved one pill in water and another one in 95% Ethanol. The solution was left overnight get it as close to as saturation as possible.
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| Ibuprofen formed in water |
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| Ibuprofen formed in water |
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| Ibuprofen formed in ethanol |
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| Ibuprofen formed in ethanol |
The ibuprofen crystals formed in water showed more compact form than the crystals formed in ethanol. The crystals formed in ethanol have feather like shape and less compact. Here is my explanation: Compared to water, ethanol has less surface tension so they spread out quickly so it has larger surface area. In addition to having larger surface area, ethanol also has lower boiling point so it evaporate quickly. Ibuprofen has less chance to form compact and organized crystals.
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