Sulfanilamide CAS NO.63-74-1

Sulfanilamide (also spelled sulphanilamide) is a sulfonamide antibacterial. Chemically, it is a molecule containing the sulfonamide functional group attached to an aniline. As a sulfonamide antibiotic, it functions by competitively inhibiting (i.e., by acting as a substrate analogue) enzymatic reactions involving para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA). PABA is needed in enzymatic reactions that produce folic acid which acts as a coenzyme in the synthesis of purine, pyrimidine and other amino acids.

The term "sulfanilamides" is also used to describe a family of molecules containing these functional groups. Examples include:

• Furosemide, a loop diuretic
• Sulfadiazine, an antibiotic
• Sulfamethoxazole, an antibiotic

Gerhard Domagk, who directed the testing of the prodrug Prontosil in 1935,and Jacques and Thérèse Tréfouël, who along with Federico Nitti and Daniel Bovet in the laboratory of Ernest Fourneau at the Pasteur Institute, discovered the active component, 4-aminobenzenesulfonamide, are generally credited with the discovery of sulfanilamide as a chemotherapeutic agent. Domagk was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work.