?? Chinese Moldy soybean curd -----> boils (furuncles, carbuncles) (S. aureus)
?? S. American Indians Chewed bark of cinchona tree ----> malarial fever (Plasmodium spp.); Wore sandals furry with mold -----> foot infections
~ 1630 Europeans Quinine (bark of cinchona) -----> malaria (Plasmodium spp.)
1877 Louis Pasteur Inhibition of some microbes by others; anthrax (Bacillus anthracis)
1908 Gelmo Synthesized sulfanilamide (1st sulfonamide)
1908-10 Paul Ehrlich Selective stains; Synthesized arsenic compound arsphenamine; (Nobel Prize) ("606", Salvarsan) -----> syphilis (T. pallidum); Coined terms "magic bullet," "chemotherapy," "chemical knife); Further progress delayed by physician hesitancy
1913 Eisenberg Studied bactericidal properties of azo dyes with sulfonamide grouping
1924 Gratia & Dath Systematic search of soil microorganisms; Discovered actinomycetin from Actinomycetes
1928/9 Alexander Fleming Inhibition of S. aureus colonies by mold Penicillium notatum; (Nobel Prize) Discovered "miracle drug," penicillin
1935 G. Domagk Prontosil (only active in vitro) but converted in the body tosulfanilamide moiety (active in vivo) which was secreted in the urine; analog of vitamin para-aminobenzoic acid
1939 G. Domagk Therapeutic value of sulfonamides (sulfur group of compounds); (Nobel Prize) Streptococcus and broad range antimicrobial activities
1939 Rene Dubos Isolated gramicidin and tyrocidin from Bacillus brevis; Active against gram positive bacteria
By 1945 Pharmacologists had 5488 derivatives of sulfanilamide (sulfonamides)
1944/5 Selman Waksman Isolated streptomycin from Streptomyces griseus (soil microbes); (Nobel Prize) Active against some gram negatives and Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Proposed term "antibiotic" = chemical compound made by a microorganism that inhibits or kills other microorganisms at low concentrations
1945 Florey & Chain Reinvestigated, isolated and characterized penicillin; (Nobel Prize) Demonstrated practical clinical value as better means to prevent death from infection of war wounds