- The qualities of sulpha had been recognized in 1908 by an Austrian student, who had discovered the anti-bacterial qualities in the substance during his medical studies. More reports of the anti-bacterial qualities appeared in USA shortly after the First World War. However the breakthrough with sulpha had to be waited till the year of 1935.
- Gerhard Domagk
served in the imperial German army during the First World War, but was wounded
in December 1914. As Domagk had studied medicine before the war, he was sent to
the medical service despite of his injuries. With the medical service, he served
in for example in the Russian cholera hospitals and this experience affected
strongly to his later interest of working with the anti-bacterial substances. He
was strongly touched by the helplessness of the doctors and medics to prevent
infectious disease spreading in the hospital. Even when the surgical operations
would have been possible to save the patient, the patient usually died after the
operation to different bacterial infections. After the war Domagk returned back
to the medical Faculty.
- Domagk however
ceased his studies and went to do research work into the pharmaceutical company
Bayer, which at that time was part of the IG Farben Trust. He and his team
managed in 1932 to isolate a substance from the sulpha amides, which protected
rabbits and mice from staphylococcus infections. Domagk named the substance as
Prontosil Rubrum. Despite the fact that the substance was effective with the
animals, Domagk remained a very sceptical its use with the humans. This time
however the course of pharmaceutical development was changed in accident.
Domagk’s daughter got seriously sick from the staphylococcus and in a
desperate attempt to save her life, Domagk gave Prontosil to his own daughter
and this way saved her life as she recovered completely from the disease.
- Despite this success, Gerhard Domagk still remained careful with this new anti-bacterial medicine and decided to wait to the year 1935, to hear the results of different doctors who were using the medicine. Prontosil was finally launched in 1935, after the results from the doctors had been positive.
- After
Prontosil, hundreds of different variations appeared from the sulpha medicines
and these medicines helped to save the life of many soldiers during the Second
World War (1939 – 1945). Despite the fact that the sulpha medicines were
effective, bacteria came resistance to the medicines really quickly. Already
during the Second World War it was evident, that the sulpha medication, which
was given to the new recruits, was not always effective against the
staphylococcus infection, as there was staphylococcus bacteria, which were
resistance against the medication. In 1953, already some 80 to 90 percentages of
different bacteria were resistance to this medicine.
- Gerhard Domagk won a Nobel price for his discovery, but had to wait to the year of 1947, before he could pick up his price and diploma. The National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP), which had come to power in Germany, didn’t want Domagk to go and collect his Nobel price.
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