D6: Antibacterials

Caleb Jarrell, Elizabeth Eden, Winnie Shao

Introduction

Antibacterials are chemicals which prevent the growth and multiplication of bacteria

D.6.1: historical development of penicillin

Name to know: Alexander Fleming

D.6.1: historical development of penicillin

In 1928, Alexander Fleming left an open Petri dish containing a culture of Staphylococcus aureus in the lab while on holiday.

Upon return, he noticed a mould that had grown and inhibited the growth of the bacterium. He deduced that the mould (Penicillium notatum) produced a compound (penicillin) that inhibits the growth of bacteria.

He published his results, but never pursued them further.

Historical development cont.

Names to know: Howard Florey

Ernest Chain

Historical Development cont.

Florey and Chain used penicillin on a policeman who was dying of septicaemia in 1941, and recorded a dramatic improvement in his condition (before he died due to lack of a supply of penicillin)

They discovered penicillin's therapeutic action and its chemical composition, and overcame problems associated with isolating and purifying penicillin

Historical development cont.

Florey went on to research large scale production of penicillin and efficient extraction of the active ingredient.

In America, Jasper Kane and other Pfizer scientists found that by growing strains of penicillin mould in large tanks containing corn-steep liquor they could produce in bulk.

In the 1950s the structure of penicillin was determined, enabling different types to be synthesized without recourse to moulds.

Historical Development Cont.

Moyer, Coghill and Raper at the NRRL developed methods for industrialized penicillin production and isolated higher-yielding strains of the Penicillium fungus.