The discovery of nystatin stems from the research of two scientists—Rachael F. Brown and Elizabeth Hazen. Their work was accomplished through persistent effort and intelligent use of basic scientific principles. Sound research led them to a naturally occurring substance that would prove valuable in fighting fungal disease.
Rachael Brown was an organic chemist with a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Elizabeth Hazen was a mycologist. In the mid-1940s, the two scientists were employed at the New York State Department of Health where their interest was piqued by the increasing reports of antibiotics. Penicillin was in widespread use by that time, and streptomycin had been discovered by Waksman in 1942. Both antibiotics were useful against bacteria, but none as yet had been developed for fungal disease. Brown and Hazen would try to fill the gap.
In the 1940s scientists knew that soilborne bacteria of the genus Streptomyces were potential sources of antibiotics. Hazen therefore collected soil samples from various places and tested the microorganisms in each sample to determine whether their waste products could inhibit fungal growth. A bacterium from soil on a farm owned by a certain Henry Nourse was especially promising. The organism was apparently unknown before Hazen isolated it, and she therefore named it Streptomyces noursei after the farmer. Now it was Brown's turn. Using her skills in chemistry, she isolated, purified, and characterized the active ingredient in the waste product. With Hazen, she demonstrated that miniscule amounts of the active principle were extra-ordinarily inhibitory to fungi. Hazen and Brown named the ingredient nystatin, for New York State.
Nystatin was introduced to the scientific community at the 1949 meeting of the National Academy of Sciences. Two years later, a patent was issued for production, and E.R. Squibb received an exclusive license to manufacture the antibiotic. Before long, nystatin became a key treatment for various forms of candidiasis, and when the Arno river flooded Florence, Italy in the 1970s, nystatin was used to combat fungi attacking the art treasures. Nystatin also has commercial value for preventing spoilage in foods, especially bananas, and is used in surgery to preclude fungal infection.
For Brown and Hazen, the accolades were many, including several honorary degrees and awards. Students at Mount Holyoke College currently vie for the Rachael Brown Fellowship, and students at Mississippi University for Woman are eligible for the Elizabeth Hazen Scholarship, both named for alumnae of the respective colleges.
