Andrew J. Moyer
Encyclopedia
Andrew Jackson Moyer was an American microbiologist who is known mainly for his work on the development of industrial production methods for various microorganisms. Moyer held 4 patents individually (US #2423873 for the fermentation
method of culturing microorganisms, US #2442141 for the use of a nutrient medium of corn steep liquor
, glucose and Sodium for the process, US #2443989 for submerged cultures and US #2476107 for the use of lactose
as a slowly assimilating energy source). His research was associated at total of 10 US patents. He was born in the Northern Indiana farming community of Van Buren Township to Edward Reuben Moyer and Minnie McCloud Moyer.
on November 30, 1899 to Edward and Minnie Moyer, both of whom were farmers. When he was two years old, his mother died and he went to live with his neighbors, the Osborn family, who raised him until he was 15 years old. During that time, he attended a local grammar school
where he was trained in the Classics. In 1914, Moyer moved to Logansport, Indiana
to live with his father and stepmother for four years.
In October 1918, he joined the US Army’s Student Training Corps at Wabash College
, a small, private, all male liberal arts college in Crawfordsville, Indiana
. Fortunately, World War I
ended the month after he enlisted, and he was never called to duty. Instead, he was discharged with the rank of Private in December, and for his services he was rewarded for a full scholarship to finance his education. He graduated from Wabash with an A.B.
in 1922.
Moyer spent the next year at the University of Wisconsin, where he found the interest that guided the rest of his career – microbial nutrition – after he worked closely with Professors Elmer V. McCollum and Harry Steenbok, who were pioneers in the field at the time. In pursuit of his newfound interest, Moyer transferred to the North Dakota Agricultural College, where he earned an M.S.in 1925. From there, he moved to the University of Maryland, College Park
where he earned his doctorate
in Plant Pathology in 1929. Moyer’s dissertation was titled “Studies in the Growth Response of Fungi to Boron, Manganese and Zinc.”
In 1931, Moyer married Dorothy Randall Phillips, whom he met during his work on his doctorate at the University of Maryland. They had no children.
In December 1940, Dr. May became director of the USDA’s newly created Northern Research Laboratory (a government research facility founded to develop industrial applications of agricultural sciences) and asked Moyer to join him. Moyer agreed, and he prepared to study mold of corn and wheat using large-scale fermentation
. At the time, he did not know that in less than a year he would be working on a project that would save millions of lives and change the world of medicine for ever.
As far back as 1928, Alexander Fleming
, a Scottish Bacteriologist, discovered a mold with extraordinary bacteria-killing powers. For a decade, European scientists had been trying to devise techniques to mass produce this mold (which Fleming had termed penicillin), however none of them were successful. With the outbreak of World War II
in 1939, and the consequent death and destruction of human life the world witnessed, the search for a technique to mass produce penicillin intensified. Governments around the world wanted to find a way to mass produce this mysterious mold which could destroy the bacteria that caused pneumonia
, diphtheria
, typhoid, tuberculosis
, cholera
and many more diseases so that they could cure their wounded.
In July 1941 Prof Howard Florey and Dr Norman Heatley
, scientists from the University of Oxford
in England, brought a small sample of the precious mold to the US in search of a way to mass produce it. Up until that point, scientists and chemists had been able to produce only enough penicillin to successfully treat a few case study patients at the Radcliffe Infirmary
in Oxford. Florey and Heatley persuaded a laboratory in Peoria, Illinois, to develop larger scale manufacturing. In Peoria, Heatley was assigned to work with Moyer. Moyer suggested adding corn steep liquor
(a by-product of the wet milling process), to the growth medium. With this and other subtle changes, such as using milk sugar
in place of glucose, they were able to push up yields of penicillin to 20 units per ml.
Florey returned to Oxford that September but Heatley stayed refining the production methods with Moyer until December 1941. The following year, back in Oxford, Florey and Heatley learned that Moyer had published their research results but omitted Heatley's name from the paper, despite an original contract which stipulated that any publications should be jointly authored. Moyer had a good reason for taking all the credit to himself. To have acknowledged Heatley's part of the work would have made it difficult to apply for patents with himself as sole inventor, which is what he did.
Moyer continued to refine the process for three years, and by 1944, he and his colleagues had completed their work and had perfected a practical method for the mass production of Penicillin – they had finally found a way to produce penicillin in industrial fermentation. Later that year, the first commercial plant for penicillin production opened in Brooklyn
, New York
. The plant was a huge success; production skyrocketed and the plant produced enough penicillin to treat all severely injured allied soldiers on D-Day.
in the spring of 1944. This development had a major impact on the number of deaths and amputations among allied forces; penicillin saved an estimated 12%-15% of Allied lives.
Another direct consequence of Moyers work was a phenomenal drop in the prices of penicillin. The price dropped from nearly priceless in 1940, to $20 per dose in July 1943, to $0.55 per dose by 1946. Because of this development, penicillin became widely available around the world after Moyers methodology was published in 1945 after the wartime secrecy of the time ended.
However, the implications of Moyer’s work extended far beyond those witnessed during his time. Because of his research, Penicillin could now be studied by labs around the world, and this led to the development of various forms of penicillin, each of which are effective against different strains of bacteria
. Moyer’s process of penicillin production provided a model for all other antibiotic fermentations; and his corn steep liquor mixture method is still used in the commercial fermentation processes of penicillin and many other antibiotics today.
Moyer continued to work for the Northern Research Laboratory until he retired in 1957. He died two years later on February 17, 1959 after a month long illness at the Veterans Administration Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. He was buried in Parklawn Memorial Cemetery in Rockville, Maryland.
in 1987; he was the first government researcher ever to be inducted. The Andrew J. Moyer fund was also established at the University of Maryland on January 31, 1977. It was made possible by a donation by his widow, Mrs. Dorothy R. Moyer, and it is awarded to outstanding graduate students studying microbiology.
US Pat. 2423873 - Filed Jun 17, 1944: Method for Production of Increased Yields of Penicillin
US Pat. 2462981 - Filed Feb 23, 1945: Method for the Production of Itaconic Acid
US Pat. 2443989 - Filed May 11, 1945: Method for the Production of Penicililn
US Pat. 2594283 - Filed Dec 29, 1949: Process for the Preparation of Inoculum for use in the Fermentative Production of Sodium Gluconate
US Pat. 2602768 - Filed Jan 10, 1950: Process for the manufacture of sodium gluconate
US Pat. 2674561 - Filed Sep 8, 1950: Production of Organic Acids
US Pat. 2870064 – Filed Jul 25,1956: Penicillin Process
Fermentation (biochemistry)
Fermentation is the process of extracting energy from the oxidation of organic compounds, such as carbohydrates, using an endogenous electron acceptor, which is usually an organic compound. In contrast, respiration is where electrons are donated to an exogenous electron acceptor, such as oxygen,...
method of culturing microorganisms, US #2442141 for the use of a nutrient medium of corn steep liquor
Corn steep liquor
Corn steep liquor is a by-product of corn wet-milling. It is an important constituent of some growth media. It was used in the culturing of Penicillium during research into penicillin, by American microbiologist Andrew J. Moyer. It is an excellent source of organic nitrogen. ....
, glucose and Sodium for the process, US #2443989 for submerged cultures and US #2476107 for the use of lactose
Lactose
Lactose is a disaccharide sugar that is found most notably in milk and is formed from galactose and glucose. Lactose makes up around 2~8% of milk , although the amount varies among species and individuals. It is extracted from sweet or sour whey. The name comes from or , the Latin word for milk,...
as a slowly assimilating energy source). His research was associated at total of 10 US patents. He was born in the Northern Indiana farming community of Van Buren Township to Edward Reuben Moyer and Minnie McCloud Moyer.
Early life and education
Andrew Jackson Moyer was born in Van Buren Township, IndianaVan Buren Township, Clay County, Indiana
Van Buren Township is one of eleven townships in Clay County, Indiana. As of the 2000 census, its population was 3,144.-Geography:Van Buren Township covers an area of ; of this is water.-Cities and towns:* Carbon* Harmony* Knightsville...
on November 30, 1899 to Edward and Minnie Moyer, both of whom were farmers. When he was two years old, his mother died and he went to live with his neighbors, the Osborn family, who raised him until he was 15 years old. During that time, he attended a local grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
where he was trained in the Classics. In 1914, Moyer moved to Logansport, Indiana
Logansport, Indiana
Logansport is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Indiana, United States. The population was 18,396 at the 2010 census. Logansport is located in northern Indiana, at the junction of the Wabash and Eel rivers, northeast of Lafayette.-History:...
to live with his father and stepmother for four years.
In October 1918, he joined the US Army’s Student Training Corps at Wabash College
Wabash College
Wabash College is a small, private, liberal arts college for men, located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Morehouse College, Wabash is one of only three remaining traditional all-men's liberal arts colleges in the United States.-History:Wabash College was founded...
, a small, private, all male liberal arts college in Crawfordsville, Indiana
Crawfordsville, Indiana
Crawfordsville is a city in Union Township, Montgomery County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 15,915. The city is the county seat of Montgomery County...
. Fortunately, World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
ended the month after he enlisted, and he was never called to duty. Instead, he was discharged with the rank of Private in December, and for his services he was rewarded for a full scholarship to finance his education. He graduated from Wabash with an A.B.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1922.
Moyer spent the next year at the University of Wisconsin, where he found the interest that guided the rest of his career – microbial nutrition – after he worked closely with Professors Elmer V. McCollum and Harry Steenbok, who were pioneers in the field at the time. In pursuit of his newfound interest, Moyer transferred to the North Dakota Agricultural College, where he earned an M.S.in 1925. From there, he moved to the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
where he earned his doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in Plant Pathology in 1929. Moyer’s dissertation was titled “Studies in the Growth Response of Fungi to Boron, Manganese and Zinc.”
In 1931, Moyer married Dorothy Randall Phillips, whom he met during his work on his doctorate at the University of Maryland. They had no children.
Work on Penicillin
After his graduation, Moyer accepted a research position with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Plant Industry, where he worked under Dr. Orville E. May at the Arlington Experiment Farm in Virginia. For ten years, he was a Mycologist there, and he studied the genetic and biochemical properties of fungi.In December 1940, Dr. May became director of the USDA’s newly created Northern Research Laboratory (a government research facility founded to develop industrial applications of agricultural sciences) and asked Moyer to join him. Moyer agreed, and he prepared to study mold of corn and wheat using large-scale fermentation
Fermentation (biochemistry)
Fermentation is the process of extracting energy from the oxidation of organic compounds, such as carbohydrates, using an endogenous electron acceptor, which is usually an organic compound. In contrast, respiration is where electrons are donated to an exogenous electron acceptor, such as oxygen,...
. At the time, he did not know that in less than a year he would be working on a project that would save millions of lives and change the world of medicine for ever.
As far back as 1928, Alexander Fleming
Alexander Fleming
Sir Alexander Fleming was a Scottish biologist and pharmacologist. He wrote many articles on bacteriology, immunology, and chemotherapy...
, a Scottish Bacteriologist, discovered a mold with extraordinary bacteria-killing powers. For a decade, European scientists had been trying to devise techniques to mass produce this mold (which Fleming had termed penicillin), however none of them were successful. With the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1939, and the consequent death and destruction of human life the world witnessed, the search for a technique to mass produce penicillin intensified. Governments around the world wanted to find a way to mass produce this mysterious mold which could destroy the bacteria that caused pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
, diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
, typhoid, tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
and many more diseases so that they could cure their wounded.
In July 1941 Prof Howard Florey and Dr Norman Heatley
Norman Heatley
Norman George Heatley was a member of the team of Oxford University scientists who developed penicillin.He was born in Woodbridge, Suffolk, and as a boy was an enthusiastic sailor of a small boat on the River Deben; an experience which gave him a lifelong love of sailing...
, scientists from the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in England, brought a small sample of the precious mold to the US in search of a way to mass produce it. Up until that point, scientists and chemists had been able to produce only enough penicillin to successfully treat a few case study patients at the Radcliffe Infirmary
Radcliffe Infirmary
The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. The Radcliffe Infirmary, named after physician John Radcliffe, opened in 1770 and was Oxford's first hospital...
in Oxford. Florey and Heatley persuaded a laboratory in Peoria, Illinois, to develop larger scale manufacturing. In Peoria, Heatley was assigned to work with Moyer. Moyer suggested adding corn steep liquor
Corn steep liquor
Corn steep liquor is a by-product of corn wet-milling. It is an important constituent of some growth media. It was used in the culturing of Penicillium during research into penicillin, by American microbiologist Andrew J. Moyer. It is an excellent source of organic nitrogen. ....
(a by-product of the wet milling process), to the growth medium. With this and other subtle changes, such as using milk sugar
Lactose
Lactose is a disaccharide sugar that is found most notably in milk and is formed from galactose and glucose. Lactose makes up around 2~8% of milk , although the amount varies among species and individuals. It is extracted from sweet or sour whey. The name comes from or , the Latin word for milk,...
in place of glucose, they were able to push up yields of penicillin to 20 units per ml.
Florey returned to Oxford that September but Heatley stayed refining the production methods with Moyer until December 1941. The following year, back in Oxford, Florey and Heatley learned that Moyer had published their research results but omitted Heatley's name from the paper, despite an original contract which stipulated that any publications should be jointly authored. Moyer had a good reason for taking all the credit to himself. To have acknowledged Heatley's part of the work would have made it difficult to apply for patents with himself as sole inventor, which is what he did.
Moyer continued to refine the process for three years, and by 1944, he and his colleagues had completed their work and had perfected a practical method for the mass production of Penicillin – they had finally found a way to produce penicillin in industrial fermentation. Later that year, the first commercial plant for penicillin production opened in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The plant was a huge success; production skyrocketed and the plant produced enough penicillin to treat all severely injured allied soldiers on D-Day.
Implications of His Work
Because of Moyers work, the Allies were able to produce 2.3 million doses of penicillin in time for the invasion of NormandyNormandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
in the spring of 1944. This development had a major impact on the number of deaths and amputations among allied forces; penicillin saved an estimated 12%-15% of Allied lives.
Another direct consequence of Moyers work was a phenomenal drop in the prices of penicillin. The price dropped from nearly priceless in 1940, to $20 per dose in July 1943, to $0.55 per dose by 1946. Because of this development, penicillin became widely available around the world after Moyers methodology was published in 1945 after the wartime secrecy of the time ended.
However, the implications of Moyer’s work extended far beyond those witnessed during his time. Because of his research, Penicillin could now be studied by labs around the world, and this led to the development of various forms of penicillin, each of which are effective against different strains of bacteria
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
. Moyer’s process of penicillin production provided a model for all other antibiotic fermentations; and his corn steep liquor mixture method is still used in the commercial fermentation processes of penicillin and many other antibiotics today.
Later Years and Death
After World War II, wartime secrecy ended, and consequently Moyer was free to publish his research on Penicillin. Between 1947 and 1949, Moyer filled for and was granted four patents regarding his work on Penicillin. On the other side of the Atlantic, neither Alexander Fleming nor Howard Florey – who undeniably discovered and isolated penicillin – took out patents since British law at the time only granted patents for the processes involved in making drugs, and not for the drugs themselves. Consequently, outrage in Europe erupted and Moyer and other scientists at the Northern Research Laboratory were accused of stealing British ideas. Although several British pharmaceutical companies used Moyer’s patented processes to culture Penicillin, none of them paid him royalties of any kind. However, in 1950, the Allies went to war in Korea and the controversy regarding the matter died down.Moyer continued to work for the Northern Research Laboratory until he retired in 1957. He died two years later on February 17, 1959 after a month long illness at the Veterans Administration Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. He was buried in Parklawn Memorial Cemetery in Rockville, Maryland.
Legacy
Dr. Moyer was posthumously named to the National Inventors Hall of FameNational Inventors Hall of Fame
The National Inventors Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to recognizing, honoring and encouraging invention and creativity through the administration of its programs. The Hall of Fame honors the men and women responsible for the great technological advances that make human,...
in 1987; he was the first government researcher ever to be inducted. The Andrew J. Moyer fund was also established at the University of Maryland on January 31, 1977. It was made possible by a donation by his widow, Mrs. Dorothy R. Moyer, and it is awarded to outstanding graduate students studying microbiology.
Patents
US Pat. 2351500 - Filed Feb 6, 1941: Process for Gluconic Acid ProductionUS Pat. 2423873 - Filed Jun 17, 1944: Method for Production of Increased Yields of Penicillin
US Pat. 2462981 - Filed Feb 23, 1945: Method for the Production of Itaconic Acid
US Pat. 2443989 - Filed May 11, 1945: Method for the Production of Penicililn
US Pat. 2594283 - Filed Dec 29, 1949: Process for the Preparation of Inoculum for use in the Fermentative Production of Sodium Gluconate
US Pat. 2602768 - Filed Jan 10, 1950: Process for the manufacture of sodium gluconate
US Pat. 2674561 - Filed Sep 8, 1950: Production of Organic Acids
US Pat. 2870064 – Filed Jul 25,1956: Penicillin Process