ABSTRACT
References ......................................................................................................................................388
27.1 INTRODUCTION
Antibiotics are chemical compounds produced by living cells that inhibit the growth of microorganisms and are used for treatment of bacterial infections. Drug development made a great leap forward with the discovery of antibiotics. In 1928, the Scottish scientist Sir Alexander Fleming found a zone in a culture of bacteria that was caused by the invasion of a mold. Penicillin, the
extract from that mold, was shown to cure bacterial infections. The golden age of antimicrobial therapy began in 1941 when a brilliant group of investigators, led by Howard W. Florey and Ernst Chain, purified penicillin and produced quantities sufficient to permit clinical trials; subsequently, many other antibiotics have been developed. Antibiotics have almost entirely replaced sulfonamides in the treatment of bacterial infection. Dozens of biosynthetic penicillins have been prepared in an attempt to obtain compounds better than penicillin G with respect to physical, chemical, and pharmacological properties. In 1958, methods were devised for preparing the penicillin nucleus, thus making it possible to biosynthesize penicillins that could not be formed in a normal medium. The resulting compounds were usually more acid stable and penicillinase resistant and had a wider antibacterial spectrum.
