Penicillin

Penicillin is the world's one of the first antibiotic to be discovered. It is derived from a mold called penicillium. Discovery of penicillin pioneered a historic start in the field of antibiotics.

                               Penicillin

Before the discovery of penicillin, there were no cures for diseases like pneumonia, gonorrhea, rheumatic fever, etc. Antibiotics are compounds produced by bacteria, fungi, and other microscopic species to counterattack other species.

                               Bacteria 

♦ Alexander Fleming: ( 1881 - 1955 )

                                        ♥ Alexander Fleming was a Professor of Bacteriology at St. Mary's Hospital in London. He discovered Penicillin in 1928. As a professor of bacteriology, Fleming studied different types of bacteria. 

                       Alexander Fleming 

                                        ♥ Once, he was studying some bacteria which cause sore throats, boils, etc. He found that in one dish there is a blob of mold. Studying it futher, he found out that mold secreted some kind of substance which killed the bacteria surrounding it. Thus, he observed that mold had some kind of substance which reduces the growth of infection causing bacteria.

              Penicillin Blob of Mold in Dish 

                                         ♥  Later, penicillium research shifted to Oxford University. In 1940, Howard Florey, a scientist at Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, observed that Penicillin can protect mice from death - causing bacteria infection.

                              Howard Florey 

♦ Production Of Penicillin:

                                                 💡 A process of producing large quantity of penicillium mold was found out. Air was pumped into deep vats of corn steep liquor ( a byproduct of milling process ). To this , other key ingredients were mixed which resulted in faster growth of penicillin in large amount.

                                                💡 However, it was a small amount of penicillin found in a moldy cantaloupe in a Peoria market which was used for mass production of the antibiotic.

               Penicillin Chemical Structure 

♦ Side effects of penicillin:

                                                  ♠ Diarrhoea that is watery or bloody.

                                                  ♠ Fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms.

                                                  ♠ Easy bruising or bleeding, unusual weakness.

                                                  ♠ Urinating less than usual or not at all.

                                                  ♠ Severe skin rashes, itching, or peeling.

                                                  ♠ Agitation, confusion, unusual thoughts or behaviour.

                                                   ♠ Seizure ( black-outs or convulsions ).      

♦ Do You Known:

                                 The development of Penicillin has been regarded as an International Historical Chemical Landmark by The American Chemical Society and The Royal Society Of Chemistry, on November 19, 1999...  

   

“  I did not invent penicillin. Nature did that. I only discovered it by accident. ”

                                           —Alexander Fleming.