Studies on the Adsorption of Sulfapyridine at the Solution-Alumina Interface

The adsorption of Sulfapyridine (SP) onto the alumina surface has been carried out at room temperature to study the adsorption behavior of SP and its mode of interaction with the surface of alumina particles. It is found that various factors such as concentration of SP solution, required time for adsorption equilibrium, pH of the adsorbate solution, temperature of adsorption medium, presence of ions like PO43-, SO42-, and Cl- affect quantitatively the adsorption of SP. Various adsorption and kinetic parameters such as the adsorption isotherm, adsorption coefficient, rate constants for adsorption and desorption and surface coverage have also been evaluated. The present study is significant because knowledge of the exact interaction between the SP molecules and the alumina surface and the proper choice of experimental condition would be helpful in carrying out an optimum separation of sulfa drug compounds chromatographically.