How ibuprofen is made

Ibuprofen was invented by Boots in Nottingham, and its name is a mash-up of its three chemical groups.

stations: 5
things upstream: 5
raw sources: 2
steps from the ground: 3

The short version

Ibuprofen is made in a chemical plant from the starting chemical isobutylbenzene. The original Boots route took six steps, and a cleaner three-step route was developed in the 1980s. The purified powder is then mixed with inactive ingredients, compressed into tablets and coated.

Build the molecule

The original Boots synthesis started from isobutylbenzene and took six steps. A greener route developed at the Celanese Chemical Company in the 1980s takes three steps and creates less waste.

3 steps in the modern route

Goes in
Acetic anhydride
Purify the powder

The product of the last step is purified until it meets the standard for medicine.
Blend with excipients

The active powder is mixed with inactive ingredients such as fillers, binders, disintegrants and lubricants that make the powder flow and the tablet break up in the body.
Press the tablets

Tablet presses compress the dry, free-flowing powder into tablets in dies, each with an accurate dose.
Coat and pack

The tablets are coated so they are easier to swallow, then packed in blister packs or bottles.

End of the lineIbuprofen

Worth repeating

Ibuprofen was discovered in 1961 in Nottingham by Stewart Adams and John Nicholson at Boots.
The name comes from its three groups: isobutyl, propionic acid and phenyl.
In 1983 and 1984 it became the first NSAID besides aspirin to be sold over the counter in the UK and the US.