Improved High Performance Liquid Chromatography of Cyclic Polypeptide Antibiotics—Polymyxins B—and Its Application to Assays of Pharmaceutical Formulations

Abstract

An isocratic high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for the analysis of polymyxins B1 and B2 is described. The method uses a 25 cm Hypersil—ODS column, a mobile phase containing 22.5% acetonitrile (v/v) in an aqueous phase with tetramethylammonium chloride (TMAC), a flow rate of 1.09 ml/minute and a wavelength of 220 nm for detection. Complete resolution of B1 and B2, and their separation from all other components and/or impurities have been achieved in less than 23 minutes. The capability of the method for the determination of the polymyxin content in pharmaceutical preparations has also been demonstrated.