﻿568 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1943 
  

  

  June 
  1944. 
  

  

  Note. 
  — 
  During 
  the 
  year, 
  since 
  the 
  preparation 
  of 
  the 
  foregoing 
  account, 
  many 
  

   notable 
  advances 
  have 
  been 
  made. 
  Of 
  greatest 
  immediate 
  interest 
  are 
  those 
  

   relating 
  to 
  penicillin. 
  Twenty-one 
  plants 
  for 
  the 
  manufacture 
  of 
  this 
  drug 
  are 
  

   being 
  erected 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  and 
  Canada, 
  at 
  a 
  total 
  cost 
  of 
  nearly 
  $20,000,- 
  

   000. 
  During 
  the 
  year 
  production 
  has 
  been 
  increased 
  by 
  more 
  than 
  10,000 
  percent, 
  

   and 
  the 
  present 
  program 
  calls 
  for 
  a 
  further 
  fivefold 
  increase. 
  Concurrently, 
  

   the 
  price 
  has 
  been 
  reduced 
  markedly 
  and 
  will 
  doubtless 
  fall 
  much 
  lower. 
  The 
  

   great 
  potency 
  of 
  penicillin 
  is 
  emphasized 
  when 
  it 
  is 
  pointed 
  out 
  that 
  the 
  projected 
  

   maximum 
  production 
  of 
  these 
  21 
  plants 
  will 
  aggregate 
  only 
  about 
  9 
  pounds 
  of 
  

   the 
  pure 
  material 
  per 
  day, 
  an 
  amount, 
  however, 
  which 
  is 
  sufficient 
  for 
  the 
  treat- 
  

   ment 
  of 
  approximately 
  10,000 
  serious 
  cases. 
  

  

  Much 
  of 
  the 
  credit 
  for 
  making 
  possible 
  the 
  production 
  program 
  is 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  

   Northern 
  Regional 
  Research 
  Laboratory 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  Department 
  of 
  

   Agriculture 
  which, 
  through 
  selection 
  of 
  better 
  strains 
  of 
  the 
  mold 
  and 
  improvement 
  

   of 
  the 
  culture 
  medium, 
  has 
  increased 
  greatly 
  the 
  yields 
  obtained. 
  

  

  Penicillin 
  has 
  been 
  isolated 
  in 
  pure 
  crystalline 
  form. 
  Information 
  as 
  to 
  its 
  

   structure 
  and 
  synthesis, 
  however, 
  is 
  at 
  present 
  classified 
  as 
  a 
  military 
  secret. 
  

  

  Considerable 
  additional 
  experience 
  in 
  the 
  clinical 
  use 
  of 
  penicillin 
  has 
  been 
  

   gained; 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  found 
  very 
  effective 
  in 
  treatment 
  of 
  pneumococcic 
  pneu- 
  

   monia 
  and 
  possibly 
  may 
  prove 
  of 
  value 
  against 
  syphilis. 
  

  

  Space 
  permits 
  brief 
  mention 
  of 
  only 
  two 
  of 
  the 
  many 
  recent 
  developments 
  in 
  

   other 
  phases 
  of 
  the 
  field 
  of 
  microbial 
  antibiotic 
  substances. 
  

  

  It 
  has 
  been 
  shown 
  that 
  the 
  products 
  isolated 
  from 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  molds 
  and 
  

   designated 
  by 
  various 
  workers 
  as 
  claviformin, 
  clavacin, 
  clavatin, 
  and 
  patulin 
  

   are 
  identical 
  and 
  have 
  the 
  formula 
  CtH 
  6 
  4 
  . 
  This 
  substance 
  has 
  been 
  claimed 
  

   to 
  be 
  efficacious 
  in 
  treatment 
  of 
  the 
  common 
  cold. 
  

  

  Among 
  the 
  newly 
  discovered 
  antibiotics, 
  special 
  interest 
  attaches 
  to 
  the 
  find- 
  

   ing 
  that 
  an 
  antibacterial 
  substance 
  is 
  produced 
  by 
  the 
  unicellular 
  green 
  alga 
  

   Chlorella 
  when 
  grown 
  under 
  autotrophic 
  conditions. 
  This 
  material, 
  named 
  

   chlorellin, 
  is 
  active 
  against 
  both 
  Gram-positive 
  and 
  Gram-negative 
  organisms; 
  

   it 
  has 
  not 
  yet 
  been 
  obtained 
  in 
  a 
  pure 
  state. 
  

  

  