When was penicillin discovered?

Alexander Fleming

Penicillin is one of the most important medical discoveries of our time, because it allows doctors to easily treat the diseases and infections that once killed many people.

If it weren't for penicillin and other drugs with its characteristics, there would be little a doctor could do if one were affected by a serious infection.

Centuries ago, moldy bread was sometimes used as an antiseptic, but no one knew why mold could fight certain infections. Later, in the 19th century, scientists discovered that certain molds and bacteria produced substances that killed or prevented the growth of other bacteria. These substances are now called antibiotics.

Then, in 1928, a Scottish scientist named Alexander Fleming worked in his laboratory with a culture of bacteria. When a kind of mold, called penicillium, accidentally fell on the culture, Fleming noticed that the mold had killed the bacteria around it. Other experiments showed that these molds produced a substance that killed many common bacteria, and Fleming named the substance penicillin.

But the most important thing about penicillin was that it did not damage the living cells of the body, as other antibiotics discovered earlier did. In 1939, other scientists found a way to purify and strengthen penicillin, which was already available in the United States in the 1940s.

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