Penicillin

3 Pages 654 Words

It is said the “wonder drug” penicillin was first discovered in 1929 by a Scottish doctor and researcher Alexander Fleming, but the writer of source number 8 says, “that based on records dated back to the 1500’s, there were many discoveries leading up to that of Fleming. For instance, in 1874, William Roberts observed that bacterial contamination is generally absent in cultures of the mold Penicillium glaucum.” Thus proving, Fleming was not the first to discover penicillin, but the first to be noted for it.

Penicillin is a mold, but not just one. There are many molds under the heading Penicillium, and they all work the same. Some are just faster at growing. The original mold used was Penicillium notatum. Then, once World War II was underway, scientists discovered they were able grow more mold with Penicillium chrysogenum, which was discovered by a laboratory worker named Mary Hunt. After a long time of searching for a new string of mold, she brought in an ordinary supermarket cantaloupe. The special mold was discovered on the cantaloupe. This grew well in a tank, and doubled the amount of penicillin produced. This factual story was given in source number 7.

If you have a chance to read my first source, it states that “penicillin stops bacterial cells from reproduction by inhibiting the synthesis of a new cell wall, which is essential for the survival of bacteria. Penicillin inhibits the enzyme which places essential cross-links between the individual polymer strings of the cell wall.” In other words, it would stop the umbilical cord from connecting to the baby’s stomach for humans. That proves that the antibiotic penicillin is very powerful. This idea is also stressed in The New Complete Medical and Health Encyclopedia, volume 4, stating that penicillin “interferes with the ability of susceptible bacteria to produce new protective cell walls as cells grow and multiply.”

For the drug Penicillin, there has...