Li Ang stood up suddenly and asked Qiu Feng: "Is there any grass in the hospital?"
"Yes."
Qiu Feng nodded and said: "It's in the warehouse."
Li Ang and Qiu Feng went to the warehouse and found Artemisia vulgaris in the medicine cabinet.
This medicinal material is used as a heat-clearing, heat-relieving, blood-cooling and external medicine in the pharmacopoeia.
In botanical classification, Artemisia annua is actually the collective name for two species of Artemisia - Artemisia annua and Artemisia annua.
Both of them are annual herbs of the class Dicotyledon, Asteraceae, and Artemisia, with similar taste and the same flower color.
The difference is that the flower head of Artemisia annua is nearly spherical, the inflorescence is smaller, the leaves are mostly three to four pinnately lobed, and the fruit is oval-shaped and slightly flat. The flowering and fruiting period is in late summer
The inflorescence head of Artemisia annua is hemispherical, the inflorescence is large, the leaves are mostly two to three comb-like pinnately lobed, and the fruit is oblong. The flowering and fruiting period is in mid-summer.
In the memory of another world, artemisinin extracted from these two types of artemisia is used to kill Plasmodium falciparum and treat malaria. The process of artificially synthesizing artemisinin has also gained recognition because of its great significance to all mankind.
won the highest scientific research award.
‘The killing mechanism of artemisinin against Plasmodium is multi-faceted. It can not only induce the swelling of the mitochondria of Plasmodium, but also produce a large amount of reactive oxygen free radicals, destroying the protozoan biofilm system.
It can also be directly connected to the Plasmodium protein through carbon atoms, taking advantage of the fact that the alkylated protein cannot work properly to kill the Plasmodium...'
Countless information flashed through Li Ang's mind. He had never thought of artificially synthesizing artemisinin.
First, because artificial synthesis is too troublesome and difficult, it is better to directly refine it at this stage.
The second reason is that artemisinin is not a specific drug against schistosomiasis.
The derivative of artemisinin, artesunate, is.
————
The first step is to extract artemisinin.
Take enough years of Artemisia annua leaves and crush them to obtain Artemisia annua coarse powder.
Soaked in 60% ethanol and filtered for six hours,
The leachate is decolored by activated carbon and filtered to obtain green leaves.
After adsorption by macroporous adsorption resin, it is eluted with high concentration ethanol.
The eluent is obtained, and the crude product is precipitated under reduced pressure below 60 degrees Celsius, and then recrystallized with ethanol to obtain relatively pure artemisinin.
In the process again, the most difficult part is the resin adsorption.
Macroporous adsorption resin refers to a type of polymer adsorption resin that does not contain exchange groups and has a macroporous structure. It has a good macroporous network structure and a large specific surface area, and can adsorb organic matter in aqueous solutions.
Li Ang chose to use styrene as the raw material to make macroporous adsorption resin.
First, benzene is separated from the oil produced by coal pyrolysis using distillation method.
Then mix ethanol and concentrated sulfuric acid in a ratio of one to three, and quickly heat it to 170 degrees to produce ethylene.
Finally, using the original process, under the conditions of 400 degrees and 2Mpa, benzene and ethylene are passed through the catalyst bed to obtain styrene.
Obtaining artemisinin is just the beginning.
First, we need to obtain the ether solvent, tetrahydrofuran.
In the reactor, ethanol, as well as magnesium oxide and silica as catalysts are put in. Under the conditions of 360 to 370 degrees, catalytic dehydrogenation and dehydration are performed to generate butadiene.
Then use butadiene as raw material, undergo oxidation to obtain furan, and then hydrogenate to obtain tetrahydrofuran.
In the tetrahydrofuran solvent system, use borohydride as the reducing agent to obtain dihydroartemisinin, add phosphoric acid to adjust the pH value to neutral, add succinic anhydride, and perform an acylation reaction to prepare artesunate.
And through extraction, crystallization, and recrystallization, relatively pure medical grade artesunate is obtained.
(Paraffin is oxidized under the catalysis of calcium and manganese to obtain mixed dicarboxylic acid oxidized paraffin, which is distilled through hot water steam to obtain succinic acid)
(Succinic acid is heated and dehydrated to form succinic anhydride)
The whole process is more complicated than penicillin.
Even if you know all the processes and have enough material and manpower to control the monks at will,
The entire plan, experiments, and testing still took Li Ang a month.
But in the end, looking at the white crystalline artesunate, it was all worth it.
Artesunate not only has the same effect as artemisinin in killing malaria parasites, but it can also kill schistosomiasis.
In areas severely affected by water poisoning, when artesunate is given to infected patients who have been briefly exposed to contaminated water, the parasite reduction rate can reach 99%.
Infected patients who have been exposed to infected water for a long time can also achieve a parasite reduction rate of more than 80% after taking it.
Moreover, artesunate has extremely low side effects, and taking it once every fifteen days is enough to last until the thread removal method is used to completely eradicate schistosomiasis.
"Put the medicine together with the instructions for use and distribute it."
Li Ang said to the person in charge of the hospital.
The treatment of diseases by Artemisia annua is something that is included in medical books, so it is not strange.
And the production process is too complicated and cannot be understood by ordinary people...
In the past, there were precedents for alchemy, alchemy, leaching, distillation, evaporation, burning, sublimation, crystallization, water bathing and other processes.
"After confirming the efficacy of artesunate, our mission in Suzhou will be completed."
Li Ang turned to look at Qiu Feng. Because of his experience in preparing penicillin last time, Qiu Feng was also invited to help him prepare artesunate this time.
"Yes. It took nearly three months. Now that I think about it, it feels like three years."
Qiu Feng sighed and turned to look at the plaque on the hospital.
In the past three months, the hospital has been expanding continuously. The sweat and tears of all medical staff have been invested here, and countless life and death have been witnessed.
The two stood side by side, looking at the plaque, and neither of them spoke.
After a long time, Li Ang looked back and said with a smile: "When I return to Chang'an, I might be able to catch up with the end of the academic exchange. Then I will apply to the mountain director and use this credit to reduce the amount we lost when we asked for leave.
Homework."
"It's best to go back a few days later and skip the midterm exam."
Qiu Feng smiled and made a joke, but a trace of melancholy arose inexplicably in his heart.
Li Ang noticed the expression on her face and comforted: "It doesn't matter, the benefits of the ward mechanism are seen by the court.
Jiangnan East Road is financially prosperous, has many workshops, and the people's income is also higher.
With financial support and medical expenses, the hospital can continue to operate even if the water poisoning epidemic disappears. It will not collapse."
"Yeah."
Qiu Feng nodded heavily. If she hadn't had this experience as a hospital doctor, she would never have imagined that there were so many people in Jiangnan East Road, the richest place in the Yu Kingdom, who lacked medical care and medicine.
"The hospital mechanism can not only help the people to the greatest extent, but also train young doctors and improve their medical practice in the shortest time.
After returning to Chang'an, I will submit a letter to the imperial court to establish a medical college and enrich the hospitals in various places."
Li Ang looked at the people lining up outside the hospital and said slowly.
A person's power is limited, no matter how talented he is, he cannot solve all problems.
Rather than being a single doctor, personally treating diseases and saving lives, it is better to spread knowledge and cultivate more doctors.
Li Ang turned his head, met Qiu Feng's surprised gaze, and said with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work this time, go back to the room and take a rest first."
Qiu Feng asked: "What about you?"
"I will go to the Suzhou Library to think about the words and sentences of the letter."
Li Ang smiled slightly, he really wanted to establish a medical school system.
In addition, now that the water poisoning issue has been resolved, it is time to investigate the ship named "Wujun Changmen Sea Falcon Thirty-nine" that is related to the source of the silk.
This chapter has been completed!