When one hears the term wonder drug, most people would not realize it refers to the first antibiotic developed, penicillin. Penicillin began with Alexander Fleming, and has since caused the development of related antibiotics that have all had a major impact in modern day medicine. Alexander Fleming was one of the most influential individuals associated with the discovery of the pharmaceutical penicillin. Alexander Fleming was born on August 6th, 1881, in a farmhouse in remote Scotland (Mulcahy). When he was thirteen, Fleming left his native country to live with his brother in London. He studied at the University of Westminster, in the applied science school of Regent Street Polytechnic (“Alexander Fleming” Scientists). Alexander worked as a clerk in a shipping …show more content…
A type of mold, Penicillium notatum, secreted a substance, penicillin, which obstructed the bacterial growth (“Discovery and Development of Penicillin). After Fleming identified that penicillin could kill bacteria, he started experimenting with mold to discover the extent of its properties. Fleming observed that although it took roughly four hours to counteract the infection, the body cleansed penicillin from the blood stream within two hours (Mulcahy). Fleming published his discoveries, but again was dismissed by other scholars. Eventually he halted his research on manufacturing penicillin as an antibiotic when several from the team of chemists assisting him relocated (“Fleming Discovers Penicillin”). Penicillin was commercially developed during World War II when two Oxford chemists came across Fleming’s publishing about penicillin. They were able to purify penicillin and establish mass production of the antibiotic (Mulcahy). Although Alexander Fleming was the pioneer who discovered penicillin, penicillin has been the foundation of discovery for other similar