1,129,393. Tetrazolylalkanoic acids. MILES LABORATORIES Inc. 6 Dec., 1966 [13 Dec., 1985], No. 54597/66. Heading C2C. Novel tetrazolyl alkanoic acids (and soluble salts thereof ) which are useful as anti-inflammatory agents and have the general formula wherein R 1 is an aryl or heterocyclic aryl radical, e.g. phenyl, halo- or alkoxy-substituted phenyl, furyl, pyridyl or thienyl, R 2 is hydrogen or an aryl or heterocyclic aryl radical, e.g. phenyl, halo- or alkoxy-substituted phenyl, furyl, pyridyl or thienyl, R 3 is hydrogen or an alkyl, aryl or heterocyclic aryl radical, e.g. phenyl, halo- or alkoxy-substituted. phenyl, furyl, pyridyl or thienyl, m is 0, 1 or 2 and n is 0, 1, 2 or 3, are prepared by the base catalysed alkylation of the corresponding 5-substituted tetrazole using as alkylating agent a compound which will substitute the tetrazole at the 2-position with the odesired carbolix acid side chain or a precursor thereof. Alkylating agents include halo esters and halo nitriles, necessitating hydrolysis as the final step in the preparation, and #-propiolactone is used in the synthesis of tetrazolyl propionic acids. Sodium and potassium salts and several intermediate ethyl esters (obtained by the interaction of the appropriate 5-substituted-tetrazole and an ethyl ester, of a #-halo-acid in the presence of sodium ethoxide) of the tetrazolyl alkanoic acids are described and characterized.