German pathologist who was awarded a Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1939 for his discovery of the first antibacterial
sulphonamide drug. In 1932 he found that a coal-tar dye called Prontosil red contains chemicals with powerful antibacterial properties. Sulphanilamide became the first of the sulphonamide drugs, used before antibiotics were discovered to treat a wide range of conditions, including pneumonia and septic wounds.
© RM 2012. Helicon Publishing is division of RM.