Identification of the components of bitespiramycin by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) was used to characterize the components of bitespiramycin, a group of 4"-acylated spiramycins produced by bioengineered strains. In total 38 components were characterized in commercial samples, including 12 impurities that had never been reported before and 12 other that were partially characterized. The structures of these unknown compounds were deduced by comparison of their fragmentation patterns with those of known major components. Their ultraviolet spectra were used to confirm the presence of an α-, β-, γ-, δ-unsaturated butadiene in the macrocyclic lactone. Compared with the classical method, LC/ESI-MS/MS is particularly advantageous in terms of sensitivity and efficiency to characterize minor components at trace levels in multi-component antibiotics.