Alexander Fleming, The Discoverer of the Antibiotic Effects of Penicillin

Abstract

In 1928, Sir Alexander Fleming observed the bacterial-killing effects of penicillin in his laboratory in London. This was the first step in the discovery of one of the most important pillars of today’s medicine: the antibiotics. It took many years to find a way to produce penicillin in large amounts, and large-scale production did not start until 1945. However, to this day, Fleming is considered the father of the antibiotics, and without his discovery we could not treat many infections caused by bacteria. This means that, without antibiotics, even a small infected wound could become fatal. In addition, surgery is much safer with antibiotics, and people with weak immune systems (like children or elderly) can now easily recover from bacterial infections. However, bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics, which was also predicted by Fleming in 1945, during his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize.