SULFANILAMIDE — SPINK 481 



P. Gelmo, a chemist working with the interest of the German dye 

 industry in mind, was apparently the first one to sjnnthesize para 

 amino benzene sulfonamide. He reported his investigations in 1908. 

 Little did he realize that a quarter of a century later this compound 

 would be known as sulfanilamide, and used in the treatment of human 

 infection. 



M. Heidelberger and W. A. Jacobs, two Americans working in the 

 Rockefeller Institute in New York, observed in 1919 that certain 

 azo dyes, including para amino benzene sulfonamide hydrocupreiene 

 would kill bacteria in the test tube. They stated in their paper at the 

 time that their colleague, the late Dr. Martha Wollstein, would ex- 

 tend these observations, but she never did. 



F. Mietzsch and J. Klaren, two German chemists working in the I. 

 G. Dye Works in Elberfeld synthesized a red dye called Prontosil, 

 and patented it on December 25, 1932. G. Domagk, the young di- 

 rector of the Institute of Experimental Pathology in the same dye 

 works, observed in 1932 that Prontosil protected mice against fatal 

 doses of hemolytic streptococci. He announced the results of his 

 important investigation in 1935, and at the same time, stated that 

 a closely related chemical compound, Prontosil-Soluble, had similar 

 protective properties. 



At this stage certain workers in France became interested in the 

 progress that the Germans had made. Important contributions were 

 made by Levaditi, Vaisman, Fourneau, and Girard. J. Trefouel, 

 Mme. J. Trefouel, F. Nitti, and D. Bovet made a most significant 

 announcement late in 1935 to the effect that the action of Prontosil 

 on microorganisms was due to its being broken down in the body to 

 form sulfanilamide, and that the latter compound was as efficient 

 a therapeutic agent as Prontosil. Their conclusions were based in 

 part upon the observations of Heidelberger and Jacobs. 



L. Colebrook and M. Kenny, working in England, demonstrated, 

 in 1936, the value of Prontosil and Prontosil-Soluble in the treat- 

 ment of puerperal infections. 



P. Long, E. Bliss, and E. K. Marshall, Jr., and their associates 

 at Johns Hopkins University, in 1936, confirmed the clinical and ex- 

 perimental findings of the European investigators. This Baltimore 

 group is largely responsible for placing this new form of chemo- 

 therapy upon a firm foundation in this country. 



The successful clinical application of Prontosil in the therapy of the 

 dreaded streptococcal infections is one of the most spectacular medical 

 triumphs of our generation. Before we knew about Prontosil 

 there was no known specific agent that was of much value in the treat- 

 ment of this type of infection. Consequently, the mortality rate was 

 high. It should be pointed out that whereas Prontosil has been 



