What is Arsphenamine?
'''Arsphenamine''', also known as '''Salvarsan''' or compound 606, is a [[drug]]. It was introduced at the beginning of the 1910s. It was the first effective treatment for [[syphilis]] and African [[trypanosomiasis]]. This [[organoarsenic]] [[chemical compound|compound]] was the first modern [[antimicrobial]] {[[antibiotic]]} agent. Arsphenamine was first synthesized in 1907 in [[Paul Ehrlich]]'s [[lab]] by [[Alfred Bertheim]].<ref name = Williams>{{cite journal | pmc = 2726818 | pmid=19679737 | doi=10.1258/jrsm.2009.09k036 | volume=102 | issue=8 | title=The introduction of 'chemotherapy' using arsphenamine - the first magic bullet | journal=J R Soc Med | pages=343–8 | author=Williams K.J. 2009| year=2009 }}</ref> The antisyphilitic activity of this compound was discovered by [[Sahachiro Hata]] in 1909. He surveyed hundreds of newly synthesized organic [[arsenic]]al compounds. Ehrlich thought that by screening many compounds, a drug could be discovered which would have anti-microbial activity but not kill the patient. Ehrlich's laboratory developed a more soluble (but slightly less effective) arsenical compound, Neosalvarsan (neoarsphenamine), which was easier to prepare. == Related pages == *''[[Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet]]'', 1940 movie about Ehrlich's quest to find a cure for syphilis. == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Antibiotics]]