Biography of Alexander Fleming ·

(Darvel, United Kingdom, 1881-London, 1955) British physician and bacteriologist. He studied at the University of London, he graduated in 1906. He was professor of bacteriology and researcher at the university and the Royal College of Surgeons in the UK. In 1951 he was appointed rector of the University of Edinburgh. His work focused mainly on the search for substances capable of attacking the bacteria that affect humans, with the aim of destroying them without damaging the patient.
The first such substance he discovered, working with Allison, was an enzyme with antibiotic properties, called lysozyme, which is present in body fluids such as saliva or tears, as well as egg white. However, the discovery that gave him greater fame made in 1928 when, by accident, some cultures of staphylococci being prepared were contaminated with Penicillium notatum, which allowed him to see that mold is formed around the circular areas in which no bacteria were detected.

Alexander Fleming
His subsequent work led him to isolate, from fungi, a substance, which he named penicillin, which was characterized by its high antibacterial power, a fact that had been observed previously, notably in 1896, Duchesne . Fleming's discovery was forgotten for decades, until in the course of his research at the University of Oxford, and because of the need for antibacterial substances to improve treatment of wounded Allied soldiers during the Second World War H. W. Florey and E. B. Chain managed to isolate and produce sufficient quantities of penicillin to apply to the healing of human beings, thus penicillin became the first antibiotic with practical applications of history and opened the way for a revolution in medicine of the century XX.
The search of substances with antibacterial power, which took place both in the United Kingdom and the United States began with preparations containing only 1% of penicillin. In 1945 preparations had been made and where the concentrations were sufficient to inhibit bacterial activity, even when diluted. Penicillin would thereafter one of the most commonly used antibiotics, due in large part to its low toxicity, making it suitable in a wide range of applications.
Fleming's discovery earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945, shared with the British pathologist, from Australia, H. W. Florey and British biochemist, of German origin, EB Chain, the two scientists who were able to isolate and produce the antibiotic.