Sulfamerazine is a sulfonamide antibiotic. It inhibits bacterial carbonic anhydrase by ~20% at a concentration of 500 μM. In vivo, sulfamerazine (500 mg/L) reduces severity of peribronchitis and inhibits cilia-associated respiratory Bacillus colonization in mice. It also prevents death of Toxoplasma-infected mice. Sulfonamide class antibiotics, of which sulfamerazine is a member, are bacteriostatic and inhibit bacterial synthesis of dihydrofolic acid by competing with 4-aminobenzoic acid for binding to dihydropteroate synthase. Formulations containing sulfamerazine have been used for the treatment of pneumonia and typhoid fever.
