How to produce industriel quantities of penicillin?
Following the discovery of Alexander Fleming, the demand for penicillin grew quickly, notably because of the Second World War where thousands of soldiers died from bacterial infections. Production techniques were then developed to manufacture penicillin on a large scale. These methods are still being perfected. Research on Penicillium has identified the ideal conditions that allow the fungus to produce the largest quantities of penicillin. Today, penicillin is produced in enormous tanks. But they are tough, these bacteria! With more and more widespread use of penicillin, certain bacteria developed resistance mechanisms. Some of them are capable today of blocking the action of penicillin as well as that of several other antibiotics. Furthermore, this resistance can be transmitted between bacteria and to future generations! In order to limit the appearance of these resistant bacteria, our use of penicillin as well as that of other antibiotics must be restrained.
