Question

Sulphanilamide is a/an:
A.Sulpha drug
B.Antibiotic drug
C.Disinfectant
D.Antacid

Answer 1

Hint: The name of a drug can also be used to classify it accordingly and its functional group can be used to identify its use in treatment. Sulphanilamide is a sulphonamide drug. It is an organic compound derived from aniline with a sulphonamide group.

Complete step by step answer:
It is a bacteriostatic antibiotic which means that it does not kill the bacteria but instead stops the bacteria from reproducing. Sulphanilamide is a wide spectrum drug which works well against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria.
Sulphonamides usually work by acting as competitive inhibitors of para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) in the folic acid synthesis cycle. The lack of folic acid inhibits the growth of bacteria.
The molecular formula of sulphanilamide is ${C_6}{H_8}{N_2}{O_2}S$ and its structure is:
$\therefore $

The correct options are option A and option B, i.e. sulphanilamide is a sulpha drug which has antibacterial properties.

Additional note:
Sulphonamide drugs are also used to treat allergies and cough, as well as antifungal and antimalarial infections. It was widely used during World War 2 to prevent infections. Sulpha drugs are mostly prepared by the reaction of sulfonyl chloride with an amine. Some of the main uses of sulpha drugs are: antibiotics, antifungal, anti-diabetic, diuretics, anticonvulsants, antivirals, stimulants etc.

Note:
Most of the drugs which contain a sulpha group are sulphonamide drugs. They are mostly bacteriostatic antibiotics which work against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria. They form weakly acidic solutions when dissolved in water and are normally found in powdered form.