The synthesis and the chemical/biological properties of N-hydroxysaccharin (1) (2-hydroxy-1,2-benzisothiazol-3(2H)-one 1,1-dioxide), a nitroxyl prodrug, are described. When treated with 0.1 M aqueous NaOH, 1 liberated nitroxyl (HN=O), a known inhibitor of aldehyde dehydrogenase (AlDH), in a time-dependent manner. Nitroxyl was measured gas chromatographically as its dimerization/dehydration product N2O. Under these conditions, Piloty's acid (benzenesulfohydroxamic acid) also gave rise to HNO. However, whereas Piloty's acid liberated finite quantities of nitroxyl when incubated in physiological phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, formation of nitroxyl from 1 was minimal. This was reflected in the differential inhibition of yeast AlDH (IC50 = 48 and > 1000 microM) and the differential relaxation of preconstricted rabbit aortic rings in vitro (EC50 = 1.03 and 14.0 microM) by Piloty's acid and 1, respectively. The O-acetyl derivative of 1, viz., N-acetoxysaccharin (13a), was much less active in both assays. It is concluded that N-hydroxysaccharin (1) is relatively stable at physiological pH and liberates nitroxyl appreciably only at elevated pH's. As a consequence, neither 1 nor its O-methyl (8a) and O-benzyl (8b) derivatives were effective AlDH inhibitors in vivo when administered to rats at 1.0 mmol/kg.