Abstract
COWAN1 in 1945 demonstrated that aqueous solutions of penicillin could lose up to 60 per cent of their antibiotic activity by simple passage through the rubber tube of a continuous-drip apparatus. These results were confirmed by Huelsbusch, Foter and Gibby2, who showed that certain samples of both natural and synthetic rubber could inactivate completely the penicillin in solution in twenty-four hours ; and also by Hughes3, who showed that no improvement was obtained by repeated washing of the tubes before use.
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References
Cowan, S. T., Lancet, i, 178 (1945).
Huelsbusch, Foter and Gibby, Science, 104, 479 (1946).
Hughes, Maj. K. E. A., R.A.M.C., 21 A.G., Penicillin Therapy and Control Report, p. 315.
Cavallito, C. J., Science, 105, 235 (1947).
Yudkin and Pulvertaft, Lancet, ii, 265 (1946).
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BELLAMY, L., WATT, C. Factors Involved in the Deactivation of Penicillin Solutions by Rubber Tubing. Nature 161, 940–942 (1948). https://doi.org/10.1038/161940a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/161940a0