Acetanilide is an organic-chemical compound from the group of aniline derivatives.

Fabrication

In its pure state, the chemical is a colourless solid which has a weak, characteristic odour, is only slightly soluble in water and is traded in leafy or flaky form.

Usableness

Acetanilide, known as antifebrin, was the first aniline derivative used in medicine as an analgesic and antipyretic agent. Toxic properties and the realization that the pharmacological effect is due to the metabolic product acetaminophen (= paracetamol) caused the drug to disappear from the market around the 1950s. Today acetanilide is used as a stabilizer of hydrogen peroxide and as an inhibitor of peroxide formation.