In chemistry, the sulfonamide functional group (also spelled sulphonamide) is -S(=O)2-NH2,
a sulfonyl group connected to an amine group.
Relatively speaking this group is unreactive.
The amine center is no longer basic.
The S-N bond is cleaved only with difficulty.
Because of the rigidity of the functional group, sulfonamides are typically crystalline.
For this reason, the formation of a sulfonamide is a classic method to convert an amine into
a crystalline derivative which can be identified by its melting point.
Many important drugs contain the sulfonamide group.A sulfonamide (compound) is a compound
that contains this group.
The general formula is RSO2NH2, where R is some organic group.
For example, "methanesulfonamide" is CH3SO2NH2.
Any sulfonamide can be considered as derived from a sulfonic acid by replacing a hydroxyl
group with an amine group.
In medicine, the term "sulfonamide" is sometimes used as a synonym for sulfa drug, a derivative
or variation of sulfanilamide.
The first sulfonamide was discovered in Germany in 1932.
== Synthesis == Sulfonamides can be prepared in the laboratory
in many ways.
The classic approach entails the reaction of sulfonyl chlorides with an amine.
RSO2Cl + R2NH → RSO2NR2 + HClA base such as pyridine is typically added to absorb the
HCl that is generated.
Illustrative is the synthesis of sulfonylmethylamide.
A readily available sulfonyl chloride source is tosyl chloride.
The reaction of primary and secondary amines with benzenesulfonyl chloride is the basis
of the Hinsberg reaction, a method for detecting primary and secondary amines.
== Sultams == Sultams are cyclic sulfonamides.
Bioactive sultams include the antiinflammatory ampiroxicam and the anticonvulsant sultiame.
Sultams are prepared analogously to other sulfonamides, allowing for the fact that sulfonic
acids are deprotonated by amines.
They are often prepared by one-pot oxidation of disulfides or thiols linked to amines.
An alternative synthesis of sultams involves initial preparation of a linear sulfonamide,
followed by intramolecular C-C bond formation (i.e. cyclization), a strategy that was used
in the synthesis of a sultam-based deep-blue emitter for organic electronics.
Sulfonamide-based compounds
== Sulfinamides == The related sulfinamides (R(S=O)NHR) are amides
of sulfinic acids (R(S=O)OH) (see sulfinyl).
Chiral sulfinamides such as tert-butanesulfinamide, p-toluenesulfinamide and 2,4,6-trimethylbenzenesulfinamide
are relevant to asymmetric synthesis.
== Disulfonimides == The related disulfonimides are of the type
R-S(=O)2-N(H)-S(=O)2-R' with two sulfonyl groups flanking an amine.
As with sulfinamides this class of compounds is used as catalysts in enantioselective synthesis.
== See also == Sulfonamide (medicine)
Sulfamic acid Sulfamide