ABSORPTION, EXCRETION AND DISTRIBUTION OF SULFAMETHAZINE

Abstract

The search for the ideal sulfonamide compound has directed our attention to sulfamethazine, the latest of the sulfonamide compounds. Sulfamethazine (2-sulfanilamido-4, 6-dimethylpyrimidine) is the dimethyl homologue of sulfadiazine. The few reports now in the literature credit it with less toxicity than the sulfonamide drugs now in use. Rose, Martin and Bevan¹ compared the solubility of this compound and its acetyl derivative with that of sulfapyridine, sulfadiazine and sulfathiazole. Sulfamethazine was found to be ten times more soluble in the free and five times more soluble in the acetylated form than sulfadiazine. Gilligan and Plummer² showed it to be the most soluble of all the sulfonamide compounds in the varying range of urinary pH in both its free and its acetylated form. Clinical studies have been made by Macartney and his associates³ and others⁴ on the use of the drug in the treatment of pneumonia in