Microwave irradiation, comparable to conventional thermal heating, proves to be a convenient method in assisting the synthesis of some butenamides, pyrrolidine-2,5-diones, and their benzenesulfonamido derivatives, which are known to have biological activities and wide medical and industrial applications. Both procedures were used to compare their efficiency in synthesizing butenamides and pyrrolidine-2,5-diones (2-25), which have important and wide applications, from condensation of alpha, beta-unsaturated anhydride (1) with the corresponding amines. Some of the products showed biological or cytotoxic (antiproliferative) activity.