penicillin

• Antibiotic


  A substance that fights bacterial infections
• Alexander Fleming


  • Military doctor in World War 1
  • Experienced frustration and tragedy of men dying from blood poisoning and staphylococcus infections
  • Determined to find a solution and cure for these infections
  • Worked at St. Mary's Hospital in London researching anti-antibiotics
• Fleming's discovery of penicillin


  1. Went on holiday

  2. Returned to find mold culture dish with white mold preventing growth of other mold

  3. Identified the penicillium bacterium as an antibiotic
• Fleming published his ideas and tried to make a practical medicine out of penicillin, but it was difficult to produce enough for a practical cure
• Fleming's work was not initially taken seriously as penicillin was seen as impossible to make and therefore impractical
• Flory and Chain


  • Researching how germs could be killed
  • Realized penicillin could be very effective
  • Got £25 funding from government, not enough
  • Got funding from America for 5 years research
  • Discovered penicillin helped mice recover from infections
  • Grew penicillin themselves using hospital bedpans
• Antibiotic


  A substance that fights bacterial infections
• Testing penicillin on a person


  1. Volunteer was Albert Alexander, a policeman with septicemia

  2. Penicillin worked and he began to recover

  3. But they ran out of penicillin after 5 days and he died
• Alexander Fleming


  • Military doctor in World War 1
  • Experienced frustration and tragedy of men dying from blood poisoning and staphylococcus infections
  • Determined to find a solution and cure for these infections
  • Worked at St. Mary's Hospital in London researching anti-antibiotics
• Fleming's discovery of penicillin


  1. Went on holiday

  2. Returned to find mold culture dish with white mold preventing growth of other mold

  3. Identified the penicillium bacterium as an antibiotic
• Penicillin had shown it worked and wasn't harmful, they just needed to find a way to make enough of it
• Fleming published his ideas and tried to make a practical medicine out of penicillin, but it was difficult to produce enough for a practical cure
• Wartime need for penicillin


  1. English factories couldn't be used for mass production

  2. Flory went to America

  3. American government made interest-free loans to US companies to buy equipment for making penicillin

  4. British firms also started mass producing penicillin

  5. Enough to treat Allied wounded on D-Day in 1944
• Fleming's work was not initially taken seriously as penicillin was seen as impossible to make and therefore impractical
• Flory and Chain


  • Researching how germs could be killed
  • Realized penicillin could be very effective
  • Got £25 funding from government, not enough
  • Got funding from America for 5 years research
  • Discovered penicillin helped mice recover from infections
  • Grew penicillin themselves using Hospital bedpans
• Lieutenant Colonel Pulvertaft: 'We had enormous numbers of infected wounded terrible Burns cases among the crews of the Armored Cars sulfonomites had absolutely no effect on these cases the last thing I tried was Penicillin the first one I tried it on was a young New Zealand officer called Newton he had been in bed for six months with compound fractures to both legs his sheets were soaked with pus and the heat of Cairo made the smell intolerable normally he would have died in a short time I gave three injections a day of penicillin and studied the effects under a microscope the thing seemed like a miracle in 10 days the leg was cured and in a month's time the young fellow was back on his feet I had enough penicillin for 10 cases 9 out of the ten were complete cures'
• After World War II, penicillin began to be manufactured and used by everyone, not just the Armed Forces
• Testing penicillin on Albert Alexander


  1. Albert had developed septicemia from a rose thorn cut

  2. Chemical drugs had not killed the infection

  3. Penicillin injections began, Albert began to recover

  4. But they ran out of penicillin after 5 days, Albert died
• Antibiotics became more and more common in the 1950s and 1960s, gradually turning from a wonder drug to an ordinary everyday lifesaver
• Penicillin had shown it worked and wasn't harmful, they just needed to find a way to make enough of it
• Factors in the development of penicillin


  • Chance - Fleming's discovery
  • War - Provided need and motivation
  • Governments - Recognized importance and provided funding
  • Science and technology - Allowed testing, proving and development
  • Industrial capacity - Allowed mass production
  • Individual genius - Fleming, Flory and Chain
• Wartime need for penicillin


  1. English factories couldn't be used for mass production

  2. Flory went to America, US government made interest-free loans to companies to buy equipment

  3. British firms also started mass producing penicillin

  4. Enough to treat Allied wounded on D-Day in 1944
• Lieutenant Colonel Pulvertaft: 'We had enormous numbers of infected wounded terrible Burns cases... the last thing I tried was Penicillin... the thing seemed like a miracle'
• After WW2, penicillin began to be manufactured and used by everyone, not just the Armed Forces
• Factors in the development of penicillin


  • Chance
  • War
  • Governments
  • Science and technology
  • Individual genius
• Fleming's discovery of penicillin was essentially by chance, although it took his prepared mind to recognize the importance
• The Second World War provided the need for penicillin to save soldiers' lives and encouraged cooperation between Allied nations to mass produce it
• Governments recognized the importance of penicillin and were prepared to provide money to develop it
• Scientific inquiry and discovery allowed penicillin to be tested, proved, and then developed quickly
• The massive industrial capacity of the United States allowed the mass production of penicillin to be stepped up quickly
• Fleming was able to find penicillin and recognize its importance, but was unable to make it into a practical medicine, which is where Flory and Chain stepped in