Penicillin and Antibiotics

What is penicillin?

Penicillin was the first to be discovered, and was originally derived from common penicillium mould.

What type of medicine is penicillin?

are that can kill the that cause diseases.

How did people use penicillin before it was discovered?

In the Middle Ages, people used mouldy bread to treat in a wound, and in 1871 Joseph Lister used it to treat a patient.

When was penicillin discovered?

Penicillin was discovered in 1928.

What bacteria did penicillin treat?

The staphylococcus is a that causes many

Who developed Fleming's research on penicillin?

In 1939, Howard Florey and Ernst Chain at Oxford University began to look into Fleming's discoveries. Helped by Norman Heatley, they conducted more tests.

How did Florey and Chain test penicillin?

Florey and Chain tested penicillin in 3 stages although they found it difficult to produce enough to be effective:

❖ In 1940, their first tests were on mice, which recovered from streptococci with penicillin.
❖ In 1941, their first human subject was a policeman with septicaemia. The penicillin helped, but there was not enough to cure him and he died.
❖ They developed penicillin to treat children, as a smaller dose was needed.

Who funded the development of penicillin?

Americans were initially responsible for funding the large-scale of penicillin. Florey travelled to the U.S. to seek help from the American . They convinced four drug companies to invest.

Why was it possible to mass-produce penicillin?

Penicillin could be for 5 key reasons:

❖ Individuals such as Fleming, Florey and Chain were actively looking for solutions to infections. Florey's decision not to patent their findings made penicillin affordable.
❖ The development of techniques to grow and observe germs helped scientists discover antibiotics.
❖ The First World War showed the impact that infections could have in wartime, while the Second World War gave governments the incentive to find and fund solutions.
❖ The technological advance of mass production techniques made it easier to make penicillin.
❖ The American government funded Florey's research for five years. Institutions such as governments funded and encouraged the production of penicillin.