Correlation of carbonic anhydrase inhibitory activities of benzenesulfonamides with the data obtained by use of nitrogen-14 nuclear quadrupole resonance.

Nitrogen-14 nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) spectra of several benzenesulfonamides in their solid state are reported and analyzed in the framework of the Townes and Dailey theory. Satisfactory correlations between the (sigma NH--sigma NS) electron densities at the sulfamyl nitrogen and the in vitro carbonic anhydrase inhibitory activities of the sulfonamides have been found. The correlations are in accord with the results of other studies that show the carbonic anhydrase inhibitory activities to be largely influenced by the electronic property of the sulfamyl group.