Acetanilide is an odourless solid chemical of leaf or flake-like appearance. Acetanilide is used as an inhibitor of hydrogen peroxide decomposition and is used to stabilize cellulose ester varnishes. It has also found uses in the intermediation in rubber accelerator synthesis, dyes and dye intermediate synthesis, and camphor synthesis. Acetanilide is used for the production of 4-acetamidobenzenesulfonyl chloride, a key intermediate for the manufacture of the sulfa drugs. It is also a precursor in the synthesis of penicillin and other pharmaceuticals. Acetanilide was the first aniline derivative serendipitously found to possess analgesic as well as antipyretic properties, and was quickly introduced into medical practice under the name of Antifebrin. But its (apparent) unacceptable toxic effects, the most alarming being cyanosis due to methemoglobinemia, prompted the search for supposedly less toxic aniline derivatives such as phenacetin.
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