chemistry

Sulfapyridine

Sulfapyridine is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sulfapyridine rather than just read about it. In short: Sulfapyridine (INN; also known as sulphapyridine) is a sulfanilamide antibacterial medication. At one time, it was commonly referred to as M&B 693.

Key takeaways

Sulfapyridine belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sulfapyridine to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sulfapyridine from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sulfapyridine (INN; also known as sulphapyridine) is a sulfanilamide antibacterial medication. At one time, it was commonly referred to as M&B 693. Sulfapyridine is no longer prescribed for treatment of infections in humans. However, it may be used to treat linear IgA disease and has use in veterinary medicine. It is a good antibacterial drug, but its water solubility is very pH dependent. Thus there is a risk of crystallization within the bladder or urethra, which could lead to pain or blockage. As with other sulfonamides, there is a significant risk of agranulocytosis, and this, rather than the development of resistance by bacteria, is the main reason for its decline in use.

History Sulfapyridine was one of the first generation of sulfonamide antibiotics. It was first synthesised by chemist Montague Phillips, working under director of research Arthur Ewins at the British firm May & Baker Ltd, Dagenham on 2 November 1937. This sample was recorded in their test log as T693. Animal testing was conducted by clinical pathologist Lionel Whitby at the Bland-Sutton Institute of Pathology, Middlesex Hospital in London under the designation M&B 693. Whitby discovered the antibacterial properties of sulfapyridine against pneumococci and a range of other bacteria in mice. Clinical trials were conducted between March and June 1938 at Dudley Road Hospital, Birmingham by doctors G. Mary Evans and Wilfrid Gaisford. These trials demonstrated a 70% reduction in mortality in 100 patients with lobar pneumonia. May & Baker began marketing sulphapyridine in the UK under the trade name Dagenan in October 1938. During the aftermath to the disastrous convoy SC7, in October 1940, Surgeon-Lieutenant John Robertson, RN, of HMS Leith, saved the life of Commodore Lachlan MacKinnon, from the torpedoed Assyrian, who had developed pneumonia, by giving him M&B 693, despite Robertson never having used it before and not knowing the required dosage. M&B 693 was successfully used to treat Winston Churchill's bacterial pneumonia. The same source records that in 1944 M&B 693 also saved Nero, the Royal Circus lion, from pneumonia. It could either be taken in tablet form or the powder could be placed in wounds. It was used so widely during the Second World War that May & Baker had difficulty keeping up with demand. It was later largely superseded by penicillin and other sulfonamides. Sulfapyridine may still be prescribed for Dermatitis herpetiformis, also known as Duhring's disease. As of December 1990, the drug is no longer marketed.

Related medications The drug sulfasalazine is structurally one molecule of mesalamine linked to one molecule of sulfapyridine with an azo chemical linker.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sulfapyridine

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sulfapyridine claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sulfapyridine before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sulfapyridine ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sulfapyridine

In research: Sulfapyridine appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sulfapyridine in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sulfapyridine is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2-Pyridyl compounds, 4-Aminophenyl compounds, Sulfonamide antibiotics, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sulfapyridine outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sulfapyridine in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sulfapyridine means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sulfapyridine out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sulfapyridine in simple terms?

Sulfapyridine (INN; also known as sulphapyridine) is a sulfanilamide antibacterial medication. At one time, it was commonly referred to as M&B 693.

Why does Sulfapyridine matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sulfapyridine?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sulfapyridine.