This simple short book will show students how to make Penicillin. Sir Alexander Fleming discovered the bacteria-killing properties of penicillin while conducting research at St. Mary's Hospital in London in the late 1920s. Upon returning to his disorganized lab from a weekend vacation, Fleming noticed that one of the Petri dishes was uncovered and a blue-green mold was growing inside. Rather than tossing the contaminated dish into the trash, he looked carefully and observed that the mold had killed bacteria growing nearby. Quite by accident Fleming had discovered penicillin, the antibiotic released by the mold of the genus Penicillium.

The story of penicillin is one of the most exciting in modern-day medical science. Three years ago there was not enough of it in the United States to treat a single patient adequately. Now there is a sufficient amount for our Army, our Navy and our Allies, as well as a moderate supply for civilians. This spectacular change has been brought about through the untiring efforts of many groups. Indeed, it is a unique example of collaborative efforts -- scientific, industrial and administrative. It has been remarked many times that penicillin is the most remarkable anti-bacterial agent that has been discovered up to the present time. It is worthy of this reputation because it is so powerful against many different microbes and it is non-toxic. In this book, Mr. Ratcliff tells us in a most interesting way how penicillin was discovered and developed from the laboratory and test-tube stage through the stage of clinical testing and trials, to the present-day commercial production. - Foreword.

Examines how penicillian was invented, how it works and penicillin today.

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"Describes the history of penicillin from the discovery of the mold by Fleming through the years of work by such scientists as Chain, Heatley, Florey, and Sheehan who purified, tested, synthesized, and eventually presented the "miracle" drug to the world." -- T.p. verso.

Eric Lax's The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat is the dramatic, untold story of the discovery of the first wonder drug, the men who led the way, and how it changed the modern world