PAGE TWO
Chemists Discover New Ways
Of Producing Miracle Drug
Just as it was radium in 1900
gmd the sulfa drugs in 1940, the
"miracle" everyone is talking
about today is penicillin, a pro
duct of common mold found on
old cheese and damp bread. It not
only promises salvation for many
31opeless infections in. war and
peade, but may be the foreerun
aier of a whole group of new won
der drugs.
Night and day a staff of 38
chemists, bacteriologists, and other
technicians from the College's
School of Chemistry 'end Physics
and School of Agriculture worked
hard to discover new ways to in
crease the production of penicil
lin, according to Herbert D. Mc-
Aulilfe, assistant professor of
acteriology.
These men, headed by Frank C.
Whitmore, dean of the School of
Chemistry and Physics, not only
made penicillin but also discov
ered new methods of purification
and increasing production. Their
findings went daily to the 21 pen
icillin-producing plants approved
by the War Production Board, and
'have helped to increase the pro
duction many-fold. This means
that the healing drug now goes
not only to battle fronts, where
it is performing medical miracles,
but also to hundreds of civilian
doctors, who 18 months ago ap
pealed for it in vain.
The long story of how penicillin
finally reached the doctbr's hypo
dermic and the newspaper head
lines began in 1929 when Dr.
Alexander Fleming, professor of
bacteriology at St. Mary's Hos
pital, London, isolated the parti
cular product of Penicillium which
he calleed penicillin.
Dr. Fleming, while carrying out
a research project, set aside on a
laboratory bench a number of
culture plates. Upon examining
them, he found that a mold had
nettled on the medium, which was
.altood substance: Probably 'blam
ing himself for 'carelessness he al
most destroyed the infected plate,
when h noticed that in the vicin
ity of the mold the bacteria had
:not
.grown, but showed better—
:and finally normal—development
with increasing distance from the
Reasoning that some matter was
produced to inhibit or
,actually
the bacteria, Dr. Fleming trans
ferred some of the mold to other
plates and found he could repeat
the effects. So he described and
named his discovery.
iDespite the exhaustive nature
of ihis study which established
;beyond all doubts the anti-Jbacter
ial poteency of penicillin, Dr.
Fleming had no,t succeeded in ex
tracting the matter from the broth
in which it had been formed.
• It was this problem of extract
ing penicillin in purified form to
Which Dr. H. AV. Florey and his
collaborators at Oxford, assisted
iby a grant from the Rockefeller
Foundation in 1936, turned their
attention. The difficulty of this
work may be realized by the fact
that it was not until 1939 that
Dr. Florey was able to obtain
enough material of sufficient
- Purity ,to put it to clinical use.
In a history making paper in
1940, Dr. Florey revealed that he
had devised methods of obtaining
p. considerable yield of penicillin.
Sn addition to this he demon
strated that in infected wounds
where sulfanilimide, drugs seemed
to have little beneficial action, the
!activity of penicillin was in
fluenced only to a minor extent
by the number of bacteria present.
The years from 1941, when the
Rockefeller Foundation provided
a traveling grant for Dr. Florey
Land his associate, Dr. N. C. Heat
ley, until 1945, when penicillin
could be manufactured commer
cially, mark a panorama of ex
itremely intense chemical, medical,
PORTER ant! WEBER
Headquarters For
SHERWIN-WILLIAM PRODUCTS
GLASS—WALL PAPER—FLOOR COVERING •
123 Frazier St. Phone 2793
and bacteriological research. Dr.
Robert Coghill, head of the fer
mentation division of the Northern
Regional Research Laboratory,
Peoria, 111., was so untiring in his
efforts to educate those engaged
in penicillin production that he
has been acclaimed "father of
penicillin industry."
The tempo of, work was quick
eneed by the entry of the United
States into the war, Dec. 7, 1941
and by the discovery that the
yield of the miracle drug could
be increased 20 times (and later
100 times,) by better methods of
culturing the mold.
By July, ‘1943, penicillin was
being produced by 21 commercial
Companies, but purification was
still a problem. When the mold
grows on the medium, it produces
many waste products which occur
as impurities along with the pen
icillin. The War Production Board
then looked to research groups
like the one at the College for
help in the improvement of puri
fication methods.
Crowing the mold in the biolo
gical department and purifying
it in the chemistry department
was routine work; searching for
new mediums which would con
tain fewer impurities was new,
vital research. The group
looked for a medium that would
be easier to purify; trial followed
trial probably thousands of
them—until their search was
ended. The new mediums con
tain only very simple chemical
substances and the recovery of
penicillin from the fermented
broths has been greatly simpli
fied.
By the time the WPB contract
expired June 30, 1945 the Col
lege had published 150 reports
that had been distributed to com
mercial , manufacturers of peni
cillin all over the country.
The work ddtre at the College
now concerns mediums and as
saying, a process by which thee
exact amount of penicillin is de
termined during each of the
many processes , in purification.
Penicillin was a scarce item 18
months ago; however. as a result
of research at the College, as well
"Zoszak simply can't do a thing without his slide rule."
—Courtesy of Westinghouse
FRATERNITY JEWELRY
L. G. BALFOUR
State College Office In Athletic Store
THE COLLEGIAN
Placement
Picard Interviews
George N. P. Leetch, director
of the College Placement Service,
has announced that Mr. R. F. Pic
ard, supervisor of industrial re
lations, Bak elite Corporation,
Bound Brook, N. J., will be on the
campus Tuesday to interview
October and February graduates
in chemical engineering, chem
istry, commercial chemistry ,
physics, and mechanical engineer
ing. Arrangements for interviews
should be made as soon as pos
sible in 204 Old Main.
Visiting Deans Study
In 'Education Workshop
Approximately 30 college and
high school deans of women ; and
women ' preparing lo become
deans, have attended special
courses this week in the Educa
tion Workshop.
Dr. Eunice Hilton, dean of wo
men at Syracuse University, has
headed the program Of courses
training women to deal with the
problems of high school and col
lege girls. The one-week course
was a part of the workshop being
conducted during the summer
session by Miss Mary Jane Wy
land of the education department.
On 'Wednesday afternoon, a
groUp of the students of "dean
ship" visited Atherton Hall ,and
were conducted through it by the
various hostesses of the dormi
tory. In the evening some of them
visited 'White Hall and sat in on
the WSGA meeting.
Although the majority are from
Pennsylvania, a number of the
women attending this. course have
com e from other states. There are
two women from Kentucky, one
from Massachusetts, one from
New Hampshire and several from
other sections.
An former students from under
graduate centers are invited to
attend the
. reorganization meeting
oC The Center Campus Club, , 10
Sparks, at 7:30 p. m. Tuesday.
as at several other collegeg and
universities, production of the
"miracle drug" has not only satis
fieed increased demand's, but has
left ample amounts for civilian
use.
Calendar
Today
Sabbath Eve Services, Hillel
Foundation, 8:30 p. m.
Tomorow
[PSCA Cabin Party, First Semes
ter Club, meet back of Old Main,
2 p. m.
Sunday
Chapel, Rev. Raymond D. Kist
ler, president of Beaver College,
11 a. 'rn.
GSO Play Day, 505 E. Fairmont,
avenue, 2 p. m.
•Monday
INA meeting, 401 Old Main,
7 p. m.
Engineer meeting,' Armory, 7
p.m.
Collegian advertising candidates,
8 Carnegie Hall, 7 p. m.
Tuesday
X-G-I Club meeting, 405 Old
Main, 7:30 p. m.
Penn 'State Club meeting, 321
Old Main, 8 p. m.
Center Campus Club meeting, 10
Sparks, 7:30 p. m.
First Semester Collegian candi
dates, .8 Carnegie Hall, 7 p. ni.
Second semester Collegian can
didates, reporters, sports assistants,
8 Carnegie Hall, 1:30 p. m.
Wednesday
Common Sense meeting, 10
Sparks, 7 p. m.
Newman Club Discussion Club
meeting, Rectory, Lady - of Victory
Church, 7 p..m.
, WSGA
,meeting, WSGA room,
White Hall, 7:15 p. m.
Thursday
IMA meeting, 401 Old Main, 7
p.m.
PECA movie: "One Day in So
viet Russia,'!.l2,l Sparks, 7:30 p. m.
2nd Semesters'Plan Trip;
Sign Up at Student Union
Second semester students who
Plan to attend the second semester
swimming party at Whipple's Dam
on Saturday, September 1, should
sign up at Student Union before
next Friday at 4:30.
To assist in, financing transpor
tation and refreshments each se
cond semester student must pay
50 cents when he signs up. The
fee for other ciassmeinbers who
will be accompanied by a second
'semester is one dollar. When sign
ing up each student is required
to show his matriculation card.
The truck transporting the stu
dents to Whipples will leave at 3
p. m. and bring them back at 1~
p.m.
Nursery Schbol Closes
The Nursery School closes
today and will reopen Sept. 17,
announces Dr. Winona L. Mor-
ARTISTS
MATERIALS
Beginner To Master !
KEELERS
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 1945
Chapel
Kistler Speaks
Dr. Raymon Kistler will speak
on "Our Church and Our Day" at
chapel services in Schwab Audi
torium 11 a.m'. Sunday. Special
music will supplement the serv-
Dr. Kistler is president of Beav
er College, Jenkintown, Penna.
Graduated from Westminster Col
lege, Wilmington, with an A. B.
and a D.D., he studied at the
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
and was ordained minister of the
United Presbyterian Church in
1915. He has since ministered at
Pittsburgh and Warren, Penna.,
and Rochester, New York.
The minister is chairman of the
Committee of the United Promo
tion of the Presbyterian Church
of the United States and a mem
ber of the Executive Committee
of the American Bible Society. He
is also a member of the Tubercu
losis and Health Association, the
Allied Temperance Forces, and
Theta Phi. His many clubs in
elude Rochester City, Ad, Mid
vale Country, Manufacturers and
Bankers Rotary, and Old York
Road Country Club.
Aurorov Translates
Russian News Report
While reading a recent edition of
the • "Novoye Russkove Slovo,"
a Russian daily newspaper pub
lished in New York 'City, Father
Constantine Aurorov, instructor
of Russian, saw an interview re
port which he thought would be
of interest to students at the Col
lege.
According to Father Aurorov's
translation of this article,Vasily
Kuznetsoff, general secrtary of
the. Professional International
Trade Union, declared that Bus
sia rio longer needs a system. of
lend-lease with America. Mr.
Kuznetsoff, who is touring indus
trial cities Of . the United States
with fellow representatives of the
Russian automobile and traction
industries, was in Detroit when
he made this statement.
Mr. Kuntzetsoff went on to say
that what present day Russia
needs is a direct buying and sell
ing contract with other nations of
the world. He added that not only
'were machines badly needed but
also engineers and other instruc
tors to teach the Russian laborers
how to use them. The interviewee
stated that he believes the present
need for teachers is greater than
the need for mechanical applian
ces. - .
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