sulfanilamide

[ suhl-fuh-nil-uh-mahyd, -mid ]

noun

, Pharmacology.

1. a white, crystalline amide of sulfanilic acid, C 6 H 8 N 2 O 2 S, formerly used in the treatment of bacterial infections: replaced by its derivatives and by antibiotics.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sulfanilamide¹

First recorded in 1935–40; sulfanil(ic acid) + amide

Example Sentences

It was later established that prontosil is metabolized by gut bacteria to generate the molecule sulfanilamide, which is the active form of the drug3.

From Nature

I am allergic to sulfanilamide and things like red yeast rice.

From New York Times

War also brought about the mass production of antibiotics, especially sulfanilamide and penicillin.

From Scientific American

He removed some packets of sulfanilamide from the first-aid kit.

From Literature

She was soon put to work helping Dr. Geiling establish the toxicity of elixir of sulfanilamide, a medicine that would be linked with scores of deaths because it contained a deadly industrial solvent.

From New York Times