So, yes, Penicillin has a formula for its creation. That being said, you should not attempt to make your own penicillin. If you have access to medical facilities, leave it to the professionals. This is purely for illustrative purposes, such as when a SHTF situation happens where it is impossible to access antibiotics.

THE FORMULA FOR PENICILLIN

penicillin mold

Penicillium Notatum mold

Penicillin is a by-product of the Penicillium fungus, but the thing is, it’s a by-product of a Penicillium fungus that’s under stress. So you have to grow the fungus, and then expose it to stresses that will make it produce Penicillin.

First you need to produce a “culture” of the penicillium fungus. – A microbiological culture is a method of multiplying microscopic organisms by letting them reproduce in a certain environment under controlled conditions.

STEP 1
Expose a slice of bread or citrus peel or a cantaloupe rind to the air in a dark place at 70 deg. F until a bluish-green mold develops.

Cut two fresh slices of whole wheat bread into ½ inch cubes and place in a 750ml Erlenmeyer flask with a non-absorbent plug. One thing you might not know is that a lot of bakeries put a substance called a mold inhibitor on bread. This suppresses fungal growth so you should probably use bread that you baked yourself.

Sterilize the flask and contents in a pressure cooker for at least 15 minutes at 15 psi. An alternate method is to place in an oven at 315 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour.

In a sterile fashion, transfer the fungus from the bread or fruit peel into the flask containing the bread cubes. Allow the cubes to sit in the dark at 70 degrees for 5 days. This is called incubation. That’s the easy part.

STEP 2

This is where it gets complicated. Prepare one liter of the following solution:

Lactose Monohydrate                   44.0 gm

Corn Starch                                    25.0 gm

Sodium Nitrate                               3.0 gm

Magnesium Sulfate                         0.25 gm

Potassium MonoPhosphate         0.50 gm

Glucose Monohydrate                   2.75 gm

Zinc Sulfate                                    0.044 gm

Manganese Sulfate                       0.044 gm

The above ingredients can be found at chemical supply houses, but you’ll have to buy a significant amount.

Dissolve the ingredients in the order listed in 500ml of cold tap water and then add more cold water to complete a liter (1000 ml).

Adjust the pH to 5.0-5.5 using HCL (hydrochloric acid). You’ll need a pH test kit like those found at pet shops and garden supply stores. Fill glass containers with a quantity of this solution. Only use enough so that when the container is placed on its side the liquid will not touch the plug.

Sterilize the containers and solution in a pressure cooker or stove just like you did before. When it cools, scrape up about a tablespoon of the fungus from the bread cubes and throw it into the solution.

Allow the containers to incubate on their sides at 70 degrees for seven days. It’s important that they are not moved around. If you did it correctly, you’ll have Penicillin in the liquid portion of the media. Filter the mixture through a coffee filter or something similar, plug the bottles, and refrigerate immediately.

STEP 3
To extract the penicillin from the solution:

Adjust the cold solution to pH 2.2 using (.01 %) HCL. Mix it with cold ethyl acetate in a “separatory funnel” (that’s a funnel with a stopcock; you can find all these items at chemistry glass suppliers) and shake well for 30 seconds or so.

Drain the ethyl acetate (which should be on the bottom) into a beaker which has been placed in an ice bath and repeat the process. Add 1% potassium acetate and mix. You want the ethyl acetate to evaporate off. This can be induced by a constant flow of air over the top of the beaker, say from a fan. When it dries, the remaining crystals are a mixture of potassium penicillin and potassium acetate.

There you have it, you have put together a laboratory and made Penicillin! You are now officially a mad scientist.

Does this sound complicated enough? As mentioned before, you should not attempt to make this. Anyone that is not a chemist is not going to be able to make their own successfully, and you don't want to put yourself at risk to anything else during this process!

However, if you practice caution and know this like the back of your hand for when SHTF, it could help you during some serious medication situations.

For more information about making your own Penicillin, visit Doom and Bloom!

Featured Image via Solis Invicti/Flickr