Past Issue

Chloramphenicol is a powerful antibiotic and is mostly used for curing both gram –negative and gram positive diseases. Ceric ammonium sulphate (CAS), a versatile oxidizing agent has been employed in acetic acid – water 40% (v/v) medium to oxidize the alcoholic groups present in chloramphenicol. This investigation has been carried out to evaluate the kinetic parameters such as rate with respect to each reactant and rate constant and thermodynamic parameters like Energy of activation(Ea), Enthalpy of activation(∆H#) and Entropy of activation(∆S#).

Ceric ammonium sulphate (CAS) is well known to oxidize carbon compounds in various acid media via the formation of 1:1 cerium (IV) – substrate complex which undergoes dissociation unimolecularly in the rate determining step. In the present work, the structure reactivity correlation in oxidation reaction of chloramphenicol, a powerful antibiotic has been ascertained using ceric ammonium sulphate as a versatile oxidizing agent in acetic acid – water 50% (v/v) media.