preview

The Discovery Of Penicillin During World War II

Better Essays

In 1928, after the careless mistake of forgetting to clean his dishes, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. The scientific community still celebrates his discovery since it was a major breakthrough in science, especially in the antibiotics and fermentation field. Although his discovery changed various scientific fields and it opened the doors for research in areas not studied or considered relevant before, the actual usefulness of penicillin was truly reached until the large scale production of penicillin was achieved. Before its manufacturing penicillin was considered for researching purposes, but after its manufacturing during World War II, it truly became helpful for humanity because it could finally start performing within its antibiotic spectrum. Although it is true that the discovery of penicillin was attributed to Alexander Fleming, the response of the rest of the scientific community was crucial in order to achieve the large-scale production of penicillin. After the incalculable loss of life during World War II, the scientific community was urged to unite and work together for the development of the large-scale production of penicillin. Faced with the challenge of producing a sufficient amount of penicillin in order to start shipping it as an antibiotic, scientists from all over the world started working on feasible fermentation methods to make their set goal a reality. The first attempt started with Norman Heatley, an Oxford biochemist.
Heatley believed that

Get Access