Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Some bacteria produce enzymes that break down the β-lactam ring, called β-lactamases, which make the bacteria resistant to penicillin. Therefore, some penicillins are modified or given with other drugs for use against antibiotic-resistant bacteria or in immunocompromised patients.
Production of antibiotics is a naturally occurring event, that thanks to advances in science can now be replicated and improved upon in laboratory settings. Due to the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming, and the efforts of Florey and Chain in 1938, large-scale, pharmaceutical production of antibiotics has been made possible.
Penicillium rubens is a species of fungus in the genus Penicillium and was the first species known to produce the antibiotic penicillin. It was first described by Philibert Melchior Joseph Ehi Biourge in 1923. For the discovery of penicillin from this species Alexander Fleming shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945. [1]
Abraham and Chain discovered that some airborne bacteria produced penicillinase, an enzyme that destroys penicillin. [65] It was not known why the mould produced penicillin, as the bacteria penicillin kills are no threat to the mould; it was conjectured that it was a byproduct of metabolic processes for other purposes. [64]
Some members of the genus produce penicillin, a molecule that is used as an antibiotic, which kills or stops the growth of certain kinds of bacteria. Other species are used in cheesemaking . According to the Dictionary of the Fungi (10th edition, 2008), the widespread genus contains over 300 species.
Antibiotics used in combination may also be antagonistic and the combined effects of the two antibiotics may be less than if one of the antibiotics was given as a monotherapy. [71] For example, chloramphenicol and tetracyclines are antagonists to penicillins. However, this can vary depending on the species of bacteria. [74]
Penicillium chrysogenum (formerly known as Penicillium notatum) is a species of fungus in the genus Penicillium.It is common in temperate and subtropical regions and can be found on salted food products, [1] but it is mostly found in indoor environments, especially in damp or water-damaged buildings. [2]
Sample of penicillin mould presented by Alexander Fleming to Douglas Macleod in 1935. The discovery of penicillin was one of the most important scientific discoveries in the history of medicine. Ancient societies used moulds to treat infections and in the following centuries many people observed the inhibition of bacterial growth by moulds.