Isolation and identification of two unknown impurities from the raw material of clindamycin hydrochloride

Clindamycin hydrochloride belongs to the antibiotic family of lincomycin. It has the same antibacterial spectrum as lincomycin, but the antibacterial activity is four to eight times stronger than that of lincomycin. There have been some adverse reactions in clinical use of clindamycin hydrochloride and its finished drug products. The impurities in drugs are directly related to their safety. In this study, two unknown impurities were isolated from the raw material of clindamycin hydrochloride through various chromatographic methods. Their structures were identified as clindamycin isomer (impurity 1) and dehydroclindamycin (impurity 2) by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. Both of them were found for the first time. The two impurities exhibit a similar but lower antibacterial activity compared with clindamycin hydrochloride.