Inventions such as insulin, aspirin, morphine, rabies vaccine, and smallpox vaccine were important medical advances that improved the quality and length of life for us humans. Undoubtedly, penicillin, which is the most used antibiotic in the world today, was also the most important invention in the medical world.
Today, we will talk about how penicillin was discovered and by whom, and what it does.
Penicillin discovery in a messy room
Penicillin was discovered in 1928 by Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming. Just like Fleming, we can say that many scientists have been working on penicillium for years, but we cannot say that they found exactly what they were looking for.
One of the scientists working on penicillium, Fleming was an extremely disorganized person. He would work scattered for days, organize his work environment in a few hours, and after 5 minutes he would lose all order again. No one predicted that this mess would lead to the discovery of humanity’s destined penicillin, and to Fleming the title of Sir and the Nobel Prize.
In 1927, Fleming set out to organize his messy work environment; he saw that fungi can destroy some harmful bacteria and he focused his work in this direction. Fleming, who discovered penicillin a year later in 1928, used penicillin in 1930 with his student, Doctor Cecil George Paine, for eye infections and had a successful result.
Penicillin’s ring opening
Like many important inventions, penicillin was at first immediately popular. not made available for use. Penicillin was used only in the military field until 1945. Penicillin, which was used by the Allied Powers especially in the Second World War, healed the wounds of many soldiers injured in the war.
Penicillin, which was introduced to the public right after the end of the war, first in Australia and then in the USA, is the most preferred antibiotic in the world today.
Uses of penicillin
The drug called penicillin by Fleming because it is produced from penicillium fungus; It is used in the treatment of many diseases, especially pneumonia, lung inflammation, ear infections, bladder and kidney inflammation, skin infections, meningitis, anthrax disease, bone and joint inflammation and sexually transmitted infections.
Financial aspects of penicillin and allergies
Penicillin; In terms of both production and storage, it is a drug that is called very cheap compared to many drugs. However, considering the efficiency obtained, penicillin is expressed as a cheap and effective drug.
Penicillin, which is very effective against infections and has a lower toxic effect compared to other drugs, causes allergic reactions in some people. According to a published report; About 1% of people are allergic to penicillin. The fatal allergic reaction rate in this 1% rate is only 0.03%.
Sources: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
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