History
The first known use of antibiotics was by the Chinese over 2,500 years ago. They discovered that applying moldy curd of soybeans to infections had therapeutic benefits. It was so effective that it become a standard form of treatment. As early as the 350 A.D., the Sudanese-Nubian civilization also used a type of tetracycline antibiotic, while Europeans used crude plant extracts and cheese curds in the middle ages. Despite it's usage throughout history, the principles of why and how antibiotics worked to fight infections were not understood until the 20th century.
It wasn't until 1928, when Alexander Flemming discovered that a strain of green Penicillium mold inhibited the growth of bacteria on an agar plate, leading to the development of the first modern era antibiotics - penicillin.
Today, antibiotics come in various forms such as topical creams or ointments, injections, pills, and so on. Each differs chemically as they are made to fight different infections, but they are all produced on an industrial scale using a fermentation process.
How It's Made
The fermentation process in making antibiotics involves growing large amounts of antibiotic-producing organisms, and isolating the produced antibiotics.
One of the key compounds needed for the metabolic cycle of the organisms is nitrogen, which is supplied into the fermentation tank in the form of ammonia. For efficient antibiotic production to occur, high quality ammonia is needed to adjust the pH of the fermentation process, which helps manufacturers ensure high yield making the process more economical.
For this purpose, manufacturers need a membrane filter that is designed to meet the demands of the pharmaceutical industry for microbiological sterilization and bioburden control. Using the right filter also means experiencing a longer lifespan of the final membrane filter, which can help manufacturers save costs.