Wonder Drugs

          In the beginning of the nineteenth century the average life span was around the age of forty five, however a century later, the life expectancy had an incredible increase, and one of the main reasons for this phenomenon was the production of medicinal molecules during the twentieth century, named antibiotics. Pharmaceuticals became a very big and field and completely changed the medical area and millions of lifes were saved thanks to the wonder drugs produced during this period.

            A molecule that opened the doors for the development of pharmaceuticals, and that made people see the potential in this field was the pain-relieving aspirin. With the advanced knowledge of chemistry and big scale reactions obtained through the dye industry and its breakthroughs, Pharmaceuticals, had the financial and knowledge backing it needed to be successful. The first example of this success was the aspirin. A scientist named Felix Hofman started to work with compounds related to salicylic acid, molecule obtained from salicin after removing the glucose group of its constitution and oxidizing the product, originating the salicylic acid. This molecule had the amazing ability to reduce fever, relieve pain and even worked as an anti-inflammatory, but unfortunately it was also corrosive and it irritating for the stomach which would end its chances of being used as a medicine. However, Hofman found that an acetylated derivate of the compound, acetyl salicylic acid, had the same analgesic properties with the corrosive flaws. This substance produced was none other than the aspirin and due to its anti-inflammatory and analgesic abilities the demand for the substance increased greatly and the source could no longer satisfy the demand, which lead to the beginning of the production of a synthetic aspirin produced using phenol molecules as a starting ingredient. Even today, aspirin is one of the most used drugs, being one of the first people tend to resort to when in pain.

            

            Around the time of aspirin discovery, breakthroughs on the antibiotics sector was also been done, when doctor Paul Ehrlich observed that certain dies would stain certain microorganisms but not others. This made him hypothesize that a microorganisms could be inflicted and eliminated without the damage of the host. Various experiments were done revolving around this theory and finally Ehrlich had results with the compound salvarsan which had shown to be active against syphilis spirochete even though it had some side effects. This achievement initiated new searches for new antibiotics testing various compounds and observing its effects in microorganisms. In 1930, after Gerhard Dogmak saved his daughter life using a dye named prontosil red, further studies were done about the dye and it was found that its antibacterial ability came from the sulfanilamide originated by the breaking if the dye molecule in the human body. The sulfanilamide is the molecule that has the antibiotic ability and it was proved to be effective against a lot other diseases like pneumonia and scarlet fever, for example. The big potential of this molecule was unveiled and innumerous derivatives were being produced in which the hydrogen would be replaced by another group. These derivatives were all from the sulfa drugs family, and some surpassed the sulfanilamide which had some strong side effects. At the time this sulfa drugs were the wonder drugs, since its ability to treat certain diseases seemed like a dream to many in that period, and they were also the reason that a lot of men did not die or did not have to go through amputations during WWII, making this substance even more important. The ability of this compounds to fight bacterial infections is on the shape and size of the sulfanilamide molecule which will stop the vital production of folic acid in the bacteria by substituting the p-Aminobenzoic acid compound that constitutes the folic acid produced. The enzyme that produces this compound does not distinguish sulfanilamide from p-Aminobenzoic acid and ineffectively using it instead and the bacteria ultimately die’s due to the lack of folic acid. Human on the other hand receive folic acid from their diet, so they won’t be affect by this molecule. Even though sulfa drugs have proved to be very successful in the fight against bacteria, its use as decreased in recent years due to its prevalent side effects, the creation of sulfa-resistant bacteria, and also due to the production of new and better antibiotics.

            Even though we tend to name sulfanilamides as antibiotics, the truth is that they are not actually antibiotics, since they are man-made molecule and not derivate from a living cell. The first true antibiotic was Penicillium first successfully used by Joseph Lister in curing a persistent abscess. Unfortunately the discovery was not further developed until 1928, when Alexander Fleming found that an culture of bacteria had gone through lysis after being contaminated with mold of the Penicillium family. The substance had proven to be very effective in the destruction of glass grown bacteria and when injected in mice it had shown no toxic effects which was a big discovery since it meant that the substance could be applied directly into the infected tissues. Penicillin had proven to very effective against a big range of bacteria and it had no harsh effects, unlike the sulfanilamides. However, its structure was still not known which meant it could not be synthetically done and the production of large amounts from mold was a big challenge. Only in 1957 after its structure was found, could Penicillin start to be synthesized. Penicillin was a peculiar molecule for scientists since it had a four membered ring in its constitution, named beta-lactam ring.  This ring, which is very uncommon in nature, is the reason for the antibiotic property of the molecule. The ring has a certain instability to it, and it can easily open in the presence of the enzyme in charge of the cell wall building in bacteria. When it the penicillin opens the bacterial enzyme attached to it through an acylation reaction. This phenomenon deactivates’ the enzyme stopping the formation of the cell wall and stopping the growth of the bacteria. Humans are not affected by this process because we have a different cell wall enzyme. With penicillin being such a great discovery, a lot of other derivatives started to be produced, for example, Ampicillin which is effective against bacteria resistant to penicillin G. and differentiates from the main molecule just in a side group. All penicillin derivatives are formed by the substitution of this specific side group.

            Wonder drugs have for sure influenced our world, so many lifes that were saved, and so many medical discoveries that were possible thanks to this first steps in the healing of people. What would the world be like if this first antibiotics and antiseptics were not discovered? Most probably our life expectancy would still be around the forty years of age, and our world would be totally different. All the molecules mentioned previously have the same importance today, they are completely indispensable in our life and anyone can see the how vital they are to our survival and well-being. The factors do a great job mentioning all the good effects these molecules have, and what they can help in a person and how this pharmaceutical field as evolved so much through the last century. Wonder drugs are and for sure will always be some of the most important molecules in our life.