In the 1937 Elixir sulfanilamide recall, which toxic chemical caused patients’ deaths?

The 1937 Elixir sulfanilamide recall involved diethylene glycol, a toxic solvent that caused patient deaths.

S. E. Massengill Company produced the medicine by dissolving sulfanilamide in diethylene glycol and marketing it as a liquid without conducting modern toxicity testing. More than 100 people, including many children, died after taking it.

The disaster became a major reason the United States strengthened federal drug regulation. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 required manufacturers to demonstrate the safety of new drugs before marketing them. The law also expanded federal authority over drug manufacturing and labeling.

Diethylene glycol is sometimes confused with ethylene glycol, the poisonous ingredient associated with antifreeze. Both are hazardous, but the chemical identified in the Elixir sulfanilamide disaster was specifically diethylene glycol.