The field of pharmaceuticals has always taken a keen interest in antibiotics as a sort of cure-all solution to numerous infections. While the first antibiotic, penicillin, is the most commonly known substance for treating of a wide range of infections, the discovery of tetracycline was equally revolutionary.
During the cold war turbulence of 1948, Dr. Benjamin Duggar of the University of Wisconsin discovered the first tetracycline antibiotic. He extracted the natural product chlorotetracycline, more commonly known as aureomycin, from soil found in the vicinity of cemeteries. Due to its superior ability to treat serious bacterial infections, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer conducted further research, which lead Lloyd Conoer to the discover the tetracycline compound in 1953.
Tetracycline production involves catalytic hydrogenolysis, whereby hydrogen gas is added to the carbon-chlorine bond present in chlorotetracycline, thus altering the characteristics of the molecule without cleaving the chemical bonds. A first in chemical manipulations of natural antibiotics, this development sparked further progress in such pharmaceutical research.
Tetracycline antibiotics effectively establish anti-bacterial protection by inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis. This prevents bacterial ribosome production, thereby thwarting the growth of bacteria cultures.
The discovery of the tetracycline antibiotic family was important to the pharmaceutical field since it can treat many infections that cause pink eye, typhus fever, and cholera, along with certain types of respiratory and urinary tract infections. Tetracycline is also commonly used for treating acne and peptic ulcers, since it reduces inflammation. Additionally, it is used to treat common infections, such as gonorrhoea and syphilis, for patients who are allergic to penicillin.
Due to the wide range of pharmaceutical applications, it’s no wonder tetracycline became the most prescribed antibiotic within three years of its discovery. To this day it remains the preferred drug for numerous bacterial infections. Furthermore, its unconventional chemical alteration of a natural antibiotic truly classifies it as a chemical that changed the world.
