Is penicillin mould?
penicillium is the name of the mould. Penicillin (sometimes abbreviated PCN) refers to a group of beta-lactam antibiotics used in the treatment of bacterial infections caused by susceptible, usually Gram-positive, organisms. The name “penicillin” can also be used in reference to a specific member of the penicillin group Penam Skeleton, which has the molecular formula R-C9H11N2O4S, where R is a variable side chain. Fleming, at his laboratory in St. Mary’s Hospital (now one of Imperial College’s teaching hospitals) in London, noticed a halo of inhibition of bacterial growth around a contaminant blue-green mold Staphylococcus plate culture. Fleming concluded that the mold was releasing a substance that was inhibiting bacterial growth and lysing the bacteria. He grew a pure culture of the mold and discovered that it was a Penicillium mold, now known to be Penicillium notatum.
