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Courtesy National Museum of American History
In the early 1920s, Canadian researchers isolated insulin from the pancreas glands of animals and successfully treated children with diabetes. They partnered with the American company Eli Lilly to mass produce this life-saving substance. This sales kit illustrates the step-by-step process for manufacturing insulin.
Cut into strips to show original structure. These are now processed as further described.
Ground find in acid alcohol water mixture. The liquid is separated from the glands by filtration.
Filtrate from No. 2 is concentrated and material insoluble in acid water removed. Solution is then saturated with sodium chloride and the precipitate fromed contains Iletin (Insulin, Lilly).
Solution in water of the precipitate from No. 3 after further purification by alcoholic fractionation.
This is the colorless finished product in one of the commonly used strengths. This very highly purified colorless solution is obtained through repeated iso-electric precipitation of solution No. 4.
This represents a solution of pure zinc-Insulin cystals. The crystals used have been prepared from Iletin (Insulin, Lilly) and zinc.
This product is prepared by adding protamine, zinc, and phosphate buffer to Iletin (nsulin, Lilly).
Glands are removed from the chill room by conveyer and emptied into the hopper from the floor above.
used in the manufacture of Iletin (Insulin, Lilly) preparations.
for the final purification of Iletin (Insulin, Lilly) preparations.
of Iletin (Insulin, Lilly) preparations in glass-enclosed, air-conditioned room.
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