Acetanilide is used as an
inhibitor of
hydrogen peroxide decomposition and is used to stabilize
cellulose ester varnishes. Acetanilide is used for the production of 4-acetamidobenzenesulfonyl chloride, a key intermediate for the manufacture of the
sulfa drugs. In the 19th century acetanilide was one of a large number of compounds used as experimental
photographic developers. In 1886, acetanilide was introduced into medical practice as a fever-reducing agent under the name Antifebrin. It was one of the first aniline derivatives found to possess analgesic and antipyretic properties. However, its use was later discontinued due to toxic side effects, including methemoglobinemia, which led to cyanosis. The first patent regarding the utilization of acetanilide as an inhibitor of
hydrogen peroxide decomposition was later filed in 1905. Acetanilide-derived herbicides have been used since the 1960s or earlier. These include
alachlor,
metolachlor and
xylachlor.
Pharmaceutical use Acetanilide was the first aniline derivative found to possess
analgesic as well as
antipyretic properties, and was quickly introduced into medical practice under the names of Antifebrin by A. Cahn and P. Hepp in 1886. prompted the search for supposedly less toxic aniline derivatives such as
phenacetin. After several conflicting results over the ensuing fifty years, it was established in 1948 that acetanilide was mostly
metabolized to paracetamol (acetaminophen) in the human body, and that it was this metabolite that was responsible for the analgesic and antipyretic properties. The observed methemoglobinemia after acetanilide administration was ascribed to the small proportion of acetanilide that is
hydrolyzed to aniline in the body. ==See also==