WB 1st Feb - Was science and technology the most important factor
in the development of penicillin?
Science and technology played a vital tole in the development of penicillin. The
pharmaceutical industry developed techniques to mass produce penicillin
using expensive equipment. Without the use of facilities such as huge tanks,
penicillin could not have been produced in large enough quantities to save the
lives of thousands of people. Before the involvement of the drug companies,
Florey and Chain were struggling to produce enough penicillin to save just one
person’s life. In 1941 the penicillin they were producing to treat a policeman
ran out and the patient died. Moreover, improved microscopes made it
possible for Fleming to make his discovery. This scientific approach was crucial
in the development of penicillin.
Another important factor was luck. Fleming left his lab in a messy condition
when he left to go all holiday. After he came back to his lab, he discovered that
the petri dish with the staphylococcus germ, that a mold was killing the germ.
He identified the mold as penicillin, this was the major break-through before it
could be mass produced and used in antibiotics. There was major luck that he
kept the petri dish out and exposed before he went on holiday and also when
he came back to notice the germ was mostly gone because of the mold, as he
could have easily dismissed the petri dish and discard it.
Another crucial factor was war, as this was a big demand for the mass
production of penicillin. Many soldiers were dying but not because of the gun
shots, it was because of bacteria getting into open wounds which infected
them and killed them. The bacteria that were killing them was the
staphylococcus, which is what penicillin could counter and kill. Pharmaceutical
companies then started mass producing penicillin to treat ill soldiers. If the war
didn’t happen the production of penicillin may have come much later.
In conclusion, I think all three factors are very important however in my
opinion I think that war was the major turning point as it showed there was a
huge demand for this effective antibiotic. If there was no demand it would
have been produced later and in smaller quantities.