Trituration (Latin, ''grinding'') is the name of several different methods used to process materials. In one sense, it is a form of
comminution
Comminution is the reduction of solid materials from one average particle size to a smaller average particle size, by crushing, grinding, cutting, vibrating, or other processes. In geology, it occurs naturally during faulting in the upper part of ...
(reducing the particle size of a substance). In another sense, it is the production of a homogeneous powdered material by mixing and grinding component materials thoroughly. For example, a
dental amalgam is formed by combining particles of a metal, usually gold or silver, with
mercury.
*In
organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, ...
, trituration is a process used to purify crude
chemical compound
A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...
s containing soluble impurities. A
solvent
A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...
is chosen in which the desired product is insoluble and the undesired by-products are very soluble or vice versa. For example, when the impurities are soluble and the desired product is not, the crude material is washed with the solvent and filtered, leaving the purified product in solid form and any impurities in solution. If mixed solvents are used, target compound and impurities are first dissolved in small amount of solvent, and then addition of another solvent causes desired compound to precipitate. This can be considered a crude form of
recrystallization performed without changes in temperature.
*In
pharmacy, trituration can also refer to the process of grinding one compound into another to dilute one of the ingredients, add volume for processing and handling, or to mask undesirable qualities. For example, the amount of hormone in a dose of
Levonorgestrel formulated as a
progestogen-only contraceptive is only 30μg, which is far too small to handle. In a typical product, the drug is triturated with c. 1700 times its mass of sugar before being compressed and coated to produce the final tablet.
*In
juicing
Juicing is the process of extracting juice from plant tissues such as fruit or vegetables.
Overview
There are many methods of juicing, from squeezing fruit by hand to wide-scale extraction with industrial equipment. Juicing is generally the ...
, a triturating juicer is a style of
juicer used to break down fresh produce into juice and fiber.
*In
homeopathy, a trituration is a mixture, often with
lactose, of a substance that is not
water-soluble
In chemistry, solubility is the ability of a substance, the solute, to form a solution with another substance, the solvent. Insolubility is the opposite property, the inability of the solute to form such a solution.
The extent of the solub ...
.
*In developmental, cell and
molecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...
, trituration is the process of fragmenting of solid material (often biological
tissue or aggregated material) into smaller components (often, respectively, cells or molecules in suspension/solution) by means of repeated passage through a
pipette.
References
*
Chemical processes
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