Characterization of 28 unknown impurities in 16-membered macrolides by liquid chromatography coupled with ion trap/time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

In terms of risk assessment, the study of the impurity profile is important to ensure the safety and effectiveness of drugs in clinical application. Sixteen-membered macrolides are produced by microbial fermentation, and many closely related substances in the product make the components and impurities complicated. In this study, methods were developed to separate and identify the impurities in three representative 16-membered macrolides (josamycin, midecamycin and meleumycin) using a high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution ion trap/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (IT-TOF MS). In total, 53 impurities were characterized in the positive mode of electrospray ionization, among which 28 novel impurities were found. The proposed structures of impurities were deduced based on MS/MS data, and the ultraviolet (UV) absorption behaviors of impurities were discussed. In addition to the impurities with maximum absorption wavelengths (λmax) of 231 nm and 280 nm, there was a new group of impurities with λmax of 205 nm in meleumycin, midecamycin and josamycin.

Analysis of josamycin in three kinds of feed using ultra high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry.

In this study, a new and accurate method based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) with electrospray ionisation tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was developed and validated for the determination of josamycin in three kinds of feeds (compound, concentrated and premix feeds). The optimised sample pretreatment procedure included extracting from the matrix with a mixture of methanol and acetonitrile (1:1, v/v) followed by drying under nitrogen and redissolving in phosphate buffer solution (pH = 8, 0.1 mol/L) followed by purifying using HLB cartridges. Validation of the method was carried out in three different matrices (compound, concentrated and premix feed) by recovery experiments, using samples spiked at concentration levels of 20, 100 and 200 µg/kg. Satisfactory recoveries from 82.4% to 93.0%, with RSDs lower than 17.4% under intermediate precision conditions were obtained in all feed matrices tested. The developed method was applied to commercially samples and josamycin was found frequently in feed containing kitasamycin.

Development of a liquid chromatography method for the analysis of josamycin.

Out of three methods for the analysis of josamycin, the best one was selected and used as starting point for further development. A central composite design was applied to find the most influencing parameters and to optimize the chromatographic conditions and a full factorial design was used to perform a robustness study. The final method uses a Hypersil ODS column 5microm, 250mmx4.6mm i.d. maintained at 45 degrees C. The mobile phase is composed of acetonitrile-phosphate buffer (pH 3, 0.2moll(-1))-tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulphate 0.2moll(-1)-water (21:5:3:71, v/v/v/v). Strongly retained impurities after the main peak require gradient elution, which is obtained by increasing linearly the acetonitrile concentration (from 21% to 50%, v/v) and decreasing the TBA concentration (from 3% to 0%, v/v) in the mobile phase. The total run time was 65min. UV detection is performed at 232nm and the flow rate is 1ml/min. The method shows good selectivity, precision, linearity and sensitivity. Five commercial bulk samples were analyzed.

Sample preparation strategy for the simultaneous determination of macrolide antibiotics in animal feedingstuffs by liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD).

A novel and suitable clean-up method that allows, for the first time, the simultaneous determination of a rather large number of macrolide antibiotics (erythromycin, rosamicin, spiramycin, tylosin, kitasamycin and josamycin in feedingstuffs by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD) is presented in this work. The effectiveness of the developed clean-up method allows the quantification of the target macrolides in poultry feed using standard calibration curves instead of matrix matched standards, which overcomes the general problem of finding representative blanks. Furthermore an additional back extraction included in the sample preparation procedure allows the determination of an additional macrolide (oleandomycin) with detection limits, expressed as apparent concentration in poultry feed, ranging from 0.04 to 0.22 mg kg(-1) and relative standard deviation values ranging from 3.6 to 10.1% depending on the target analyte. Moreover, this additional step has been proven to enlarge the scope of the method by the extension of its applicability, at the target level of concentration, to other animal feedingstuffs such as pig and cattle. The analysis of real feedingstuffs containing macrolides demonstrated the fitness for purpose of the whole analytical procedure as well as a good fitting between real and spiked samples. The proposed methods appeared therefore as a sound alternative in the frame of control (e.g. for post-screening purposes) and/or monitoring surveillance programmes at the target level of 1.0 mg kg(-1) established according to the reported lowest dosage of additive needed to lead a growth promoting effect.

Liquid chromatography-UV diode-array detection method for multi-residue determination of macrolide antibiotics in sheep's milk.

A rapid, simple and sensitive liquid chromatography-UV diode-array detection method was developed for the simultaneous determination of seven macrolides (erythromycin, oleandomycin, roxithromycin, josamycin, spiramycin, tylosin and ivermectin) in sheep's milk. The column, mobile phase, temperature and flow rate were optimised to provide the best resolution of these analytes. The extraction of the antibiotic residues involves the treatment of protein-free samples with a combination of concentrated sodium hydroxide and ethyl acetate. Necessary defatting is achieved by alkaline hydrolysis. The recovery of each antibiotic was between 55% and 77%, with relative standard deviations ranging from 1% to 6.5%. The limit of quantification was 72.4 microg/kg for ivermectin, 48.3 microg/kg for roxithromycin, and 24.1 microg/kg for erythromycin, oleandomycin, spiramycin, josamycin and tylosin. The procedure was successfully used in the multi-residue determination of these macrolides at levels below the maximum concentrations legally allowed in milk samples.

[Identification of the components and products of hydrolysis in acetylleucomycin by LC-MS].

AIM: To identify the components of acetylleucomycin and its hydrolytic products by LC-MS. METHODS: Acetylleucomycin was separated on a Diamonsil C18 column with 0.1 mol x L(-1) ammonium acetate-acetontrile (35 : 65) as mobile phase. The LC-MS was equipped with an electorspray ion source (ESI), which was set at the positive ion mode, and the mass spectra of each component in chromatogram were obtained with difference cone voltage. RESULTS: The components of acetylleucomycin and its hydrolytic products can be separated by HPLC. The components were identified according to the molecular weight and its major mass fragment ions. The major components identified in domastic acetylleucomycin were acetylleucomycin A4, A5; acetylleucomycin A1, A3; acetylleucomycin A6, A7, and acetylleucomycin A13. The hydrolytic products of acetylleucomycin were not kitasamycin, but some non-complete hydrolytic product. CONCLUSION: The method is rapid, sensitive and specific. It' s suitable to application in the fields of multi-components antibiotics analysis.

Application of liquid chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry to the characterization of the 16-membered ring macrolide josamycin propionate.

Coupled liquid chromatography and ion trap mass spectrometry (LC/MS) was used for the characterization of the semi-synthetic 16-membered ring macrolide josamycin propionate. On-line identification of impurities in this antibiotic complex was performed with an ion trap mass spectrometer without recourse to time-consuming isolation and purification procedures. Ion trap mass spectrometry is ideally suited to identification of impurities because it provides MSn capability, enabling multiple stages of mass spectrometry to obtain the maximum amount of structural information for a given molecule. The ion trap was used with an electrospray ionization source operated in the positive ion mode or with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source operated in the negative ion mode. The identity of the unknown compounds was deduced using the MS/MS and MSn collision-induced dissociation spectra of reference substances or structural analogs as interpretative templates, combined with knowledge about the nature of functional group fragmentation behavior. Given the importance attached to the identification of impurities of unknown identity in pharmaceutical substances, this study is useful for companies producing josamycin propionate. The knowledge of the fragmentation behavior is also of importance in further research on other 16-membered macrolides.

Kinetic spectrophotometric determination of josamycin in formulations and spiked human plasma using 3-methylbenzothiazolin-2-one hydrazone/Fe+3 system.

A simple kinetic spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of josamycin in its dosage forms and spiked human plasma. The method is based on reaction of the drug with 3-methylbenzothiazolin-2-one hydrazone/ferric chloride system for a fixed time of 20 min at 70 degrees C and measuring the produced color at 665 nm. The absorbance-concentration plot is rectilinear over the range of 5.0-30.0 microg/mL with detection limit of 1.0 microg/mL (1.2 x 10(-6) M). The determination of josamycin by the fixed concentration and the rate-constant methods is also feasible with the calibration equations obtained, but the fixed-time method proved to be more applicable. The procedure was successfully applied to commercial tablets. The results obtained were favorably compared with those given by reference methods. The method was further extended to the in vitro determination of josamycin in spiked human plasma. The recovery (n = 8) was 100.76 +/- 3.43%. The stoichiometry of the reaction between the drug and the reagent was studied by adopting the limiting logarithmic method, and a proposal of the reaction pathway was presented.

Kinetic spectrophotometric determination of the macrolide antibiotic josamycin in formulations.

A simple kinetic spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of josamycin in its dosage forms. The method is based on oxidation of the drug with alkaline potassium permanganate at room temperature for a fixed time of 20 min and measuring the produced green color at 611 nm. The absorbance-concentration plot is rectilinear over the range of 2-10 microg/mL (2.4 x 10(6)-1.2 x 10(-5)M) with minimum detectability of 1.0 microg/mL (1.2 x 10(-6)M). The determination of josamycin by fixed concentration and the rate-constant methods is also feasible with the calibration equations obtained, but the fixed-time method proved to be more applicable. The procedure was applied successfully to commercial tablets, and statistical analysis showed that the results compared favorably with those obtained by reference methods. The effect of sensitizers and surfactants on the performance of the proposed method was also studied. A proposal of the reaction pathway was presented.

Multiresidue method for confirmation of macrolide antibiotics in bovine muscle by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

A particle beam/liquid chromatographic/mass spectrometric (PB/LC/MS) method capable of determining 5 macrolides in bovine muscle is described. Spiramycin, tylosin, tilmicosin, erythromycin, and josamycin residues in bovine muscle are confirmed by reversed-phase LC/MS incorporating gradient elution. Macrolides are extracted from tissue with chloroform, and the extract is purified with a diol solid-phase extraction cleanup. The 5 macrolides are identified by negative and positive chemical ionization with selective ion monitoring of 2 ions in each mode. The procedure confirms the presence of each macrolide at 50 micrograms/kg in spiked samples.

Characterization of impurities in josamycin using dual liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry.

The European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) prescribes a selective and sensitive liquid chromatography/ultraviolet (LC-UV) method for the separation of the 16-membered ring macrolide josamycin and its related compounds. Since josamycin is obtained by fermentation, several closely related substances can be found in the sample. Several impurities have already been identified using reference substances. However, many peaks in the chromatogram cannot be correlated with known compounds or correspond to structures which were not described previously. The hyphenation of LC to mass spectrometry (MS) is a very useful tool for the characterization of impurities. The existing LC-UV method however uses non-volatile buffers, while for LC/MS a volatile mobile phase is required. In this study, each peak from the non-volatile system was collected separately and reinjected into a LC system using volatile mobile phase constituents. This way, the analyte could be separated from the buffer salts. Mass spectral data of this macrolide antibiotic were acquired on a LCQ ion trap mass spectrometer, equipped with an electrospray ionization (ESI) probe operating in the positive ion mode. The identity of the unknown compounds was deduced using the MS/MS and MS(n) collision-induced dissociation spectra of reference substances, combined with knowledge about the nature of functional group fragmentation behavior. The impurity profiling was done on 30 peaks in a josamycin bulk sample. This way, 12 compounds reported in the literature and Ph. Eur. were found in the bulk sample. Furthermore, 12 novel related substances were characterized and 18 compounds were partially characterized.

[Determination of five macrolide antibiotic residues in royal jelly samples by using high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry].

The macrolides are lipophilic molecules having a central lactone ring bearing 12 to 20 atoms to which several amino and/or neutral sugars are bound. They are broad spectrum antibiotics active against Gram-positive bacteria and mycoplasmas, as well as some Gram-negative organisms and members of the chlamydia group. Macrolides are a group of antibacterial compounds that have been widely used in medical and veterinary practices. A method of high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was developed for the confirmation of five macrolide antibiotic residues (spiramycin, oleandomycin, tylosin, roxithromycin, josamycin) in royal jelly samples. Trichloroacetic acid solution was used to precipitate the protein in the sample. The upper layer solution was extracted with acetonitrile. Then it was cleaned up with a C18 column. The one precursor/two product ion transitions for each macrolide antibiotics were monitored. The results show that the working curves for five macrolide antibiotics were linear in the range of 0.002 - 0.05 mg/L by HPLC-MS/MS in selective ion monitoring model. The limits of quantitation of the antibiotics in royal jelly were all 20 microg/kg. The recoveries were between 73.0% -90.2% at three spiked levels (20, 100 and 200 microg/kg for each macrolide antibiotic), and the relative standard deviations were between 5.6% - 10.5%.

[Simultaneous determination of josamycin, theophylline and paracetamol in pharmaceutical waste water by high performance liquid chromatography].

A high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was established for the simultaneous determination of three main pollutants (josamycin, theophylline and paracetamol) in pharmaceutical waste water. The three drug residues were concentrated with a SepPak C18 solid-phase extracted column, and eluted with methanol. The HPLC separation was performed on a Hypersil ODS column (200 mm x 4.6 mm i.d.) with a gradient eluting system of 0.025 mol/LKH2PO4-H3PO4 (pH 2.75)-methanol. The detection wavelengths were 230 nm for josamycin, 272 nm for theophylline, and 243 nm for paracetamol. The linear ranges of the drugs were 0.1-100 mg/L with correlation coefficients between 0.9993 and 0.9995. The recoveries were more than 93%, and relative standard deviations (n = 6) were less than 2.1%. The detection limits (S/N = 3) were less than 1.0 microg/L.

Determination of josamycin residues in porcine tissues using high-performance liquid chromatography with pre-column derivatization and spectrofluorimetric detection.

A simple, selective and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method has been developed for the measurement of josamycin residues in four porcine tissues (i.e., muscle, liver, kidney and fat). The sample preparation consisted of a homogenization step in an acetonitrile-10 mmol l-1 phosphate buffer mixture, pH 6.0 (35 + 65), centrifugation and a liquid-liquid extractive clean-up of the resulting supernatant with isooctane. Pre-column derivatization of josamycin was performed using cyclohexa-1,3-dione in ammonium acetate buffer, pH 5.0 (90 degrees C for 2 h). The derivative was chromatographed in an isocratic reversed-phase HPLC system. A LiChrospher RP 18 end-capped (5 microns) column was eluted with an acetonitrile-methanol-10 mmol l-1 phosphate buffer mixture, pH 6.0 (45 + 5 + 50). The capacity factor of the josamycin derivative was 17.5. Detection was achieved using spectrofluorimetry (lambda ex = 375 nm; lambda em = 450 nm). The structure of the derivative was assessed by using mass spectrometry. Full selectivity was obtained in the HPLC system versus other macrolide antibiotics (tylosin, spiramycin and erythromycin), aldehydes (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and benzaldehyde) and endogenous compounds. Linearity and repeatability were tested. Correlation coefficients, for calibration curves in the range of 0.1-3.2 micrograms g-1, were greater than 0.999 for all tissues and the relative standard deviation (S(r)) was 4.9% (1.6 micrograms g-1; n = 6); recovery was higher than 88%.

Residues of macrolide antibiotics in eggs following medication of laying hens.

1. The elimination kinetics of four macrolide antibiotics (tylosin, erythromycin, spiramycin and josamycin) in eggs were determined separately for albumen and yolk after oral administration through either drinking water or diet or after intramuscular injection. 2. Residues were assayed by a plate diffusion technique in cylinders with Micrococcus luteus as the test-organism. 3. Drug excretion was usually over a longer time in the yolk. Spiramycin was the most highly excreted in the egg whereas seven to eight times less tylosin and erythromycin was transferred. The conditions for the use of macrolide antibiotics in laying hens are discussed.