Was Alexander Fleming the Inventor of Penicillin?

The Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming discovered, rather than invented, penicillin. Penicillin is an antibiotic drug, which means that it kills bacteria. It is used to treat many common infections.

Discovery of Penicillin

• Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928. He was studying bacteria at the time, and discovered that a certain mold, Penicillium notatum, killed the bacteria. He isolated the mold, grew it, and experimenting with killing various different kinds of bacteria. Because of his discovery, Alexander Fleming was knighted. He also won the Nobel Prize in 1945 for medicine.

Further Advances in Penicillin

• Eventually, scientists discovered that penicillin could kill bacteria that affects human beings. The scientists Howard Florey and Ernst Chain developed the first penicillin shot for humans in 1941. They also won the Nobel Prize in 1945.

Uses of Penicillin

• Doctors still prescribe penicillin and similar bacteria-killing drugs. Penicillin is used to treat ear infections, strep throat and other bacterial illnesses. The types of antibiotics doctors use has diversified, however, due to some people being allergic to penicillin and some illnesses developing resistance against it.