Industrial Production of Antibiotics

Who discovered the first antibiotic, what was it and what year?

• Alexander Fleming

• penicillin

• 1928

What is Augmentin?

• brand of co-amoxiclav that is broad spectrum

What does fermentation process begin with?

• small vials of culture (e.g. streptomyces clavuligerus for clavulanic acid and penicillium chrysogenum for Penicillin G)

Why is sterilisation important during process of producing antibiotics?

• in order to control monoculture growth of the desired compound

• loss of sterilisation can inhibit desired organism growth and can result in contamination

What is difficult about the fermentation process?

• it is an aqueous process so beta lactam is prone to hydrolysis so degradation of the ring is a challenge

• chilling batches and modifying pH can aid in preventing loss (but continuous processing throughout fermentation is key to ensure max output)

What are the steps of producing antibiotics?

• fermentation

• enzymation

• extraction

• isolation

During isolation step of industrial production of antibiotics, why is washing and drying critical?

• because an increase in moisture gives rise to atypical degradation, making the antibiotics unsuitable for the shelves