The preparation of K1-halophenyl-N4-acetylsulfanilamides in the usual media, pyridine (1) and dimethylaniline (2), was found to be accompanied by undesirable side-reactions. This communication reports the results of an investigation of sulfonamide synthesis carried out in these and other media in an effort to overcome this difficulty. In particular, the scope of application of glacial acetic acid and its limitations with respect to this synthesis will be presented.Interest in the sulfanilanilides was aroused by the reported (IC) activity of the 3',5'-dihalo derivatives in a malarial infection in canaries and this work was undertaken in order to prepare a series of sulfonanilides for antimalarial investigation. The 3', 5'-dihalosulfanilanilides were found to possess activity which was retained in the presence of p-aminobenzoic acid when tested against a Plasmodium Eophurae infection in the duck. This was in marked contrast to other sulfanilamides (3) such as sulfadiazine. Another contrasting Characteristic was their activity against a Plasmodium cathemerium infection in the duck where the usual sulfanilamides are relatively inactive. The details of this work and the activity of a series of sulfonanilides against these two experimental malarial infections are being reported elsewhere (4).The side-reactions in pyridine, in pyridine-acetone or in dimethylaniline were most troublesome with haloanilines. For example, the tenacity of the contaminants is illustrated by the fact that colorless products of sharp melting point showed ultraviolet fluorescence not characteristic of later preparations by a different method. Consideration of the base strength of aniline in glacial acetic acid ( 5 ) and the ready acylation of anilines in this solvent (6) suggested its examination as a medium for the preparation of sulfonamides. Since this work was completed, certain preparations in acetic acid have been reported by Allen et al. (7). X-Acetylsulfanilyl chloride was found to have high solubility (footnote b, Table I) in boiling acetic acid and to be stable to the one-half per cent of water present. In contrast to the rapid decomposition of sulfonyl chlorides in pyridine solution, one mole of added water produced only a slow reaction in hot acetic acid as evidenced by the high recovery of N-acetylsulfanilyl chloride. However, the presence of bases such as sodium acetate or pyridine caused very rapid hydrolysis of the sulfonyl chloride in acetic acid while the effect of acetamide or urea was distinctly less rapid. These results are in general agreement with the base strengths (5) in this medium and with the assumption of an acetate