Nitish Kumar[Group 8] 1st Year 2nd Semester Kursk State Medical university

1. DISCOVERY OF ANTIBIOTICS
-Nitish Kumar
Group 08

2. What are Antibiotics?
Antibiotics, also known as antibacterials, are medications that destroy or slow down the growth
of bacteria.
They include a range of powerful drugs and are used to treat diseases caused by bacteria.
Antibiotics cannot treat viral infections, such as cold, flu, and most coughs.
This article will explain what antibiotics are, how they work, any potential side effects, and
antibiotic resistance.

3. DISCOVERY OF ANTIBIOTICS

4. DISCOVERY OF ANTIBIOTICS
This phenomenon has long been known; it may
explain why the ancient Egyptians had the practice
of applying a poultice of moldy bread to infected
wounds. But it was not until 1928 that penicillin, the
first true antibiotic, was discovered by Alexander
Fleming, Professor of Bacteriology at St. Mary's
Hospital in London.

5. HOW ANTIBIOTICS WERE FOUND ?
The discovery of antibiotics revolutionized medicine in
the 20th century. In 1900, infectious disease was a leading
cause of death; in 2000, infectious diseases were
responsible for only a small percentage of deaths in
developed nations.
Antibiotic consumption continues to rise among the low-
and middle-income countries in recent years .
Unfortunately, bacteria evolve rapidly, and resistance
mechanisms have developed and spread for every
antibiotic in clinical use soon after its introduction.

6. Some fear a return to the pre-antibiotic era because of the
increasing prevalence of multi-drug resistant superbugs,
the decreasing number of novel antibiotics to enter the
market, and the departure of several pharmaceutical
companies from the field of antibiotic research due to
scientific, economic, and regulatory challenges.
There is an urgent need for solutions that can drive rapid
discoveries of novel antibiotics, especially those against
multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and Gram-negative bacteria
and community-acquired infections such as Salmonella spp,
Campylobacter spp, N gonorrhoeae, and H pylori, as
prioritized by World Health Organization . Here, I review
past and current methods for the discovery and development
of antibiotics and overcoming bacterial resistance.

8. S.A. Waksman defined an antibiotic as
“a chemical substance, produced by
micro-organisms, which can inhibit the
growth of and even to destroy bacteria
and other micro-organisms”
Today, the term antibiotic is used more
broadly to include any anti-microbial
compound, whether of natural or
synthetic origin
Antibiotics inhibit bacterial growth by
targeting essential cellular processes
such as the synthesis of the bacterial cell
wall, DNA/RNA, and proteins

9. In 1909, Paul Ehrlich
discovered the very first
antibiotics, synthetic
arsenic-based drugs
(Salvarsan), in a large screen
of hundreds of
organoarsenic compounds
for use in the treatment of
syphilis. The next
antibacterials to be clinically
used were the synthetic
sulfonamides or the sulfa
drugs.

10. Gerard Domagk
discovered Prontosil, a
red dye, while
experimenting with azo
dyes against bacterial
infections in mice in 1935.
The sulfonamide group
was identified as the
critical component in
Prontosil, and this led to
the synthesis of more
than 5000 sulfa drugs
between 1935 and 1945

11. Alexander Fleming discovered
penicillin, the first natural
product antibiotic, in 1928. He
observed that Penicillium
molds produced a diffusible
extract that had antibacterial
activity against staphylococci .
Although Fleming performed
several experiments in vitro, he
did not test the extract against
animal models, and penicillin
was only used as a local
antiseptic for many years

12. Florey and Chain elucidated
the structure of penicillin,
and in 1940 they showed that
penicillin was active against
streptococcal infection in
mice. Following this
discovery, penicillin started
to be used systemically as an
antibiotic, which then
ushered in the golden age of
antibiotics. In 1945, Fleming,
Chain, and Florey were
awarded the Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine for
their discovery of penicillin.