Father of Antibiotics

Alexander Fleming, in full Sir Alexander Fleming, (born August 6, 1881, Lochfield Farm, Darvel, Ayrshire, Scotland—died March 11, 1955, London, England), Scottish bacteriologist  his discovery of penicillin. Fleming had a genius for technical ingenuity and original observation. His work on wound infection and lysozyme, an antibacterial enzyme found in tears and saliva, guaranteed him a place in the history of bacteriology. But it was his discovery of penicillin in 1928, which started the antibiotic revolution, that sealed his lasting reputation. Fleming was recognized for that achievement in 1945, when he received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, along with Australian pathologist Howard Walter Florey and German-born British biochemist Ernst Boris Chain, both of whom isolated and purified penicillin.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCIENCE

● Discovery of Lysozyme

In November 1921 Fleming discovered lysozyme, an enzyme present in body fluids such as saliva and tears that has a mild antiseptic effect. That was the first of his major discoveries. It came about when he had a cold and a drop of his nasal mucus fell onto a culture plate of bacteria. Realizing that his mucus might have an effect on bacterial growth, he mixed the mucus into the culture and a few weeks later saw signs of the bacteria’s having been dissolved. Fleming’s study of lysozyme, which he considered his best work as a scientist, was a significant contribution to the understanding of how the body fights infection. Unfortunately, lysozyme had no effect on the most-pathogenic bacteria.

● Discovery of Penicillin

On September 3, 1928, shortly after his appointment as professor of bacteriology, Fleming noticed that a culture plate of Staphylococcus aureus he had been working on had become contaminated by a fungus. A mold, later identified as Penicillium notatum (now classified as P. chrysogenum), had inhibited the growth of the bacteria. He at first called the substance “mould juice” and then “penicillin,” after the mold that produced it. Fleming decided to investigate further, because he thought that he had found an enzyme more potent than lysozyme. In fact, it was not an enzyme but an antibiotic—one of the first to be discovered. By the time Fleming had established that, he was interested in penicillin for itself. Very much the lone researcher with an eye for the unusual, Fleming had the freedom to pursue anything that interested him. Although that approach was ideal for taking advantage of a chance observation, the therapeutic development of penicillin required multidisciplinary teamwork. Fleming, working with two young researchers, failed to stabilize and purify penicillin. However, he did point out that penicillin had clinical potential, both as a topical antiseptic and as an injectable antibiotic, if it could be isolated and purified.

Penicillin eventually came into use during World War II as the result of the work of a team of scientists led by Howard Florey at the University of Oxford. Though Florey, his coworker Ernst Chain, and Fleming shared the 1945 Nobel Prize, their relationship was clouded owing to the issue of who should gain the most credit for penicillin. Fleming’s role was emphasized by the press because of the romance of his chance discovery and his greater willingness to speak to journalists.