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Ancient Techniques - Modern Applications
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Man has been drying food to preserve it since pre-historic times. Ancient Inca civilisations in South America even used the particularly non-destructive technique of freeze drying to preserve food, with nutrients intact. Within the last fifty years, drying in order to stabilise products has become widespread in the pharmaceutical industry.
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Current Applications
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There are many familiar applications of dried therapeutic products used in modern medicine. An overview of current drugs from vaccines to chemotherapy agents, which are manufactured in a dried form can be read by clicking, more...
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History of Dried Pharmaceuticals
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The second world war accelerated the development of many technologies. Freeze dried blood plasma, and antibiotics were two significant medical advances made during wartime,
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In 1928 Alexander Fleming, a microbiologist working at St. Mary's Hospital in London discovered penicillin. Initially due to purification difficulties and the substance's instability he dismissed the substance as a laboratory curiosity. In 1939 Drs. Howard Florey and Ernst B. Chain working at Oxford, used freeze drying to stabilise pure penicillin. Using the freeze dried formulation they were able to carry out successful trials, demonstrating the antibiotic's effectiveness. Fleming, Florey and Chain shared the 1945 Nobel prize in medicine in recognition of this work. The image to the right shows Fleming working with penicillin. Image from Pfizer history website.
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