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Review
. 2009 Jun;36(6):775-86.
doi: 10.1007/s10295-009-0553-8. Epub 2009 Mar 13.

Different roads to discovery; Prontosil (hence sulfa drugs) and penicillin (hence beta-lactams)

Ronald Bentley  1
Affiliations
Review

Different roads to discovery; Prontosil (hence sulfa drugs) and penicillin (hence beta-lactams)

Ronald Bentley. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2009 Jun.

Abstract

The important chemotherapeutic agents, Prontosil and pentenylpenicillin (penicillin F), were investigated initially by two men, Domagk and Fleming, who had been influenced by the horrendous wound infections of World War I. The very different pathways leading to their development and to that of the successor antibacterials (sulfa drugs, further penicillins, semi-synthetic penicillins), including the role played by patents, are discussed.

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