Alexander Fleming

Inventor of Penicillin
 Childhood
 Born on Lochfield Farm,
Darvel, Ayrshire on
August 6, 1881.
Was a farmer's son.
Moved to London at age
13, to stay with his older
brother.

Fleming working in
his Laboratory.
 School

Attended Louden Moor School, Darvel

School, and Kilmarnock Academy.
In London, he attended Polytechnic.
 St. Mary's
 Met Sir Almroth
Wright, a professor
at St. Mary’s.
Joined his
laboratory staff.
Spent the rest of
his life there, as a
bacteriologist.
Site of Fleming's laboratory.
 Penicillin
Discovered in
1928.
Was working in
his lab, trying to
kill a deadly
bacteria, when he
noticed a blue
mold growing on
The mold Penicillum
the dish. Notatum.
 Not an ordinary mold
Learned that it was
the mold Penicillum
Notatum.
 Penicillin is found
in this mold.
Noticed that the
bacteria around the
mold was
The mold Penicillum
dissolving. Notatum.
 How it is was Developed
For 9 years, nobody could
purify the Penicillum Notatum
to get the pure penicillin.
Finally, in 1938, a team of
Oxford University Scientists,
headed by Howard Florey
and Ernst B. Chain helped to
develop penicillin.
Penicillin being
developed.
 Mass Production
Methods for it’s mass
production, purification,
and stabilization were
developed in the U.S.,
in cooperation with the
Department of
Agriculture. The US
government paid for its
mass production.
If not for this,
thousands of people A machine used to
would die. produce Penicillin.
 How Penicillin is used
In early days of
Penicillin
therapy, the
drug was
administered in
small doses
every three
hours. Penicillin in a pill form.
 What it cures
Penicillin has
been known to
cure many
diseases such as
Pneumonia,
Scarlet Fever,
Syphilis, Tetanus,
and Gangrene.
Pneumonia.
 How it works
Penicillin works
by killing
bacteria. To do
this, it interferes
with the
bacteria’s ability
to synthesize
Penicillum viewed through a
the cell wall. microscope.
 Forms of Penicillin
There are many
different forms of
Penicillin, which all
come from the molds
of genus named
Penicillum. Penicillin
G, Penicillin V,
Ampicillin, and
Amoxicillin are the
most commonly used
forms of Penicillin. Penicillin G.
 World War II
Penicillin was
introduced to the
world just in time
for World War II.
It helped save
many lives during
the war, and has
been greatly
appreciated
since. An add for Penicillin, during WWII.
 Later Life
He married a nurse,
and they had a son
named Robert, who
was born in 1924. His
wife died in 1949. He
was working with
Amalia Coutsouris
Voureka in a
laboratory, and they
married in 1953. He
later died at the age of
74, on March 11, 1955.
 Awards and Recognitions
 Collected 25 Honorary Degrees
 26 Medals
 18 Prized
 13 Decorations
 Was Knighted in 1944.
 Memberships in 87
Scientific Academies
and Societies
 The Nobel Prize
with Howard Florey
and Ernst B. Chain for
Physiology or Medicine
in 1945.