PENICILLIN

Alastair Thornton, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol.

E-mail: at9257@bris.co.uk

INTRODUCTION

            Penicillin, the first true antibiotic, was discovered in 1928 by Scottish bacteriologist Sir Alexander Fleming. His discovery eventually lead to the wide spread production of a drug that has saved thousands of life’s especially when it was introduced to treat war wounds in the second world war.

            This website gives a brief introduction to its discovery and manufacture and goes some way to describe how it kills bacteria.