1. Introduction to penicillin (penicillin, or the transliteration of penicillin) is also called penicillin G, penicillin G, penicillin, penicillin sodium, benzylpenicillin sodium, benzylpenicillin potassium and benzylpenicillin potassium. Penicillin is an antibiotic, and its molecule contains penicillamine, which can destroy the cell wall of bacteria and play a bactericidal role in the reproductive period of bacterial cells. It is an antibiotic extracted from Penicillium. Penicillin belongs to β -lactam antibiotics (β-lactams), including penicillin, cephalosporins, carbapenems, monocyclic antibiotics and cephamycin antibiotics. Penicillin is a commonly used antibacterial drug. However, a skin test must be done before each use to prevent allergies.
Penicillin is the first antibiotic found in human history. According to legend, during the Tang Dynasty in ancient China, tailors in Chang 'an often mixed the pulp with green hairs on the fingers cut by scissors to promote the wound to heal as soon as possible. Now it is not difficult for us to understand that this is because the paste will produce green hairs (in fact, penicillin bacteria) after being left for a long time, and these "green hairs" have bactericidal effect. In a sense, this is also the earliest record of human use of penicillin.
In ancient society, no matter in China or abroad, many people died of accidental injuries or their own diseases because they could not get antibacterial treatment with drugs.
For example, if someone got systemic inflammation at that time, for example, he was accidentally stabbed by a sharp weapon, or got pneumonia, because there was no effective intervention of antibacterial drugs, patients or injured people often could only think that they were doomed and wait for death.
This situation lasted until the 1940s, when people invented the first effective antibacterial drug-penicillin.
2. How penicillin was discovered There are many scientific discoveries in my impression, all of which were caused by a "beautiful mistake". For example, the invention of "vaccine" was that French scientist Pasteur injected chickens with "expired bacteria", while the invention of "saccharin" originated from Russian chemist farid Bilger's "Don't wash your hands before meals". There are countless such "unintentional" incidents, as well as "penicillin"
1928 In the summer, alexander fleming, a Scottish pharmacist, cultivated a large number of Staphylococcus aureus (highly pathogenic) in the laboratory for his paper on Staphylococcus. After that, he happily went to the countryside for the summer vacation.
When Fleming came back from playing, he found a mold spore falling into a Petri dish. In that "polluted" container, a small blue mold grew, but the Staphylococcus aureus in it disappeared. In other words, this blue mold has a powerful bactericidal effect.
From 65438 to 0929, Fleming published his research results in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology and named it "penicillin". Unfortunately, this article was ignored in the medical field at that time.
3. Why is penicillin so precious? After Fleming discovered penicillin, he immediately devoted himself to the purification of penicillin, but he never found an effective method. It wasn't until 1939 that the papers written before 10 finally attracted the attention of Oxford university pathologists Flory and Ernst Boris ernst boris chain.
Subsequently, Flory and Ernst Boris ernst boris chain spent a lot of energy to extract penicillin, but none of them were satisfactory. By 1940, Ernst Boris ernst boris chain had successfully extracted a little penicillin. Although this is a great breakthrough, they all know that there is still a long way to go before clinical application.
Just as they were looking for a breakthrough, the second magical moment came. A researcher in Flory happened to find a moldy cantaloupe in the corner while buying fruit, and the mold on it immediately caught their attention. After 18 months of intense experiments, Flory and ernst boris chain finally got penicillin with enough purity for intramuscular injection.
At this time 12 years have passed since Fleming discovered penicillin, and penicillin finally waited for its inventor. By 1943, pharmaceutical companies have been able to mass-produce penicillin.
The role of penicillin in World War II-saving lives and turning the tide.
The appearance of penicillin is not only an important milestone in the history of antibiotics, but also marks the beginning of the golden age of antibiotics, and quickly reversed the war situation in World War II.
Perhaps some readers are wondering, is this medicine more useful than live ammunition, and can it turn the tide? This is really no exaggeration. You know, in the early World War II, compared with the soldiers who died of bacterial infection, the soldiers who died directly on the battlefield were simply nine Niu Yi hairs.
The appearance of penicillin directly changed this situation, greatly improved the tragic death of soldiers and saved thousands of lives. 1944, in Omaha beach, penicillin saved the lives of 3000 soldiers in one day, which is a well-deserved "century medicine".
Because of the strength of penicillin, 1942, the United States put penicillin production in the second place in the important wartime production plan, and the first place was the "Manhattan Plan". Allied forces have gained the upper hand, and now the number of casualties has been effectively controlled. Therefore, penicillin directly influenced the trend of World War II and made an indelible contribution to the victory over fascism.
Today, with the proliferation of antibiotics, you may not feel the preciousness of penicillin, but during World War II, penicillin was a military drug, which was very rare in the market and may not be available, so it was once fired to a sky-high price. Things are rare, and it is a "life-saving medicine", which is naturally precious!