Identification of impurities in polymyxin B and colistin bulk sample using liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry

The European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) describes liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (LC-UV) methods using C₁₈ stationary phases for the analysis of polymyxin B and colistin.Several unknown impurities were detected in commercial samples of those polypeptide complexes. However, the Ph. Eur. does not specify any related substances for polymyxin B and colistin. Since both methods use non-volatile buffers, the mobile phases were incompatible with mass spectrometry (MS). For the identification of related substances in bulk samples by LC/MS, volatile mobile phase systems were developed. However, the LC/MS methods (with volatile additives) showed inferior chromatographic separation compared to the LC-UV method (with non-volatile additives). Moreover, previously identified impurities by LC/MS could not be assigned in LC-UV methods as the separation in both systems was different.In this study, known impurities were traced in the LC-UV methods and new impurities present in polymyxin B and colistin bulk samples were characterized. To achieve this, each peak from the non-volatile system was collected separately and reinjected into an LC system with a volatile mobile phase coupled to MS. This way, collected impurity peaks were rechromatographed on a reversed phase column in order to separate the analyte from the buffer salts. Using this method, out of 39 peaks, five novel related substances were characterized in a polymyxin B bulk sample. Fourteen impurities, which were already reported in the literature were traced as good as possible in the LC-UV method. In the case of colistin, a total of 36 peaks were investigated, among which four new compounds. Additionally, 30 known impurities were traced in the LC-UV method.     

高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定动物源食品中粘杆菌素、多粘菌素B的残留量

建立了动物源食品中粘杆菌素和多粘菌素B残留的高效液相色谱-串联质谱(HPLC-MS/MS)测定方法。样品用V(10%三氯乙酸水溶液):V(乙腈)=30:70提取,Oasis WCX SPE柱净化,LC-MS/MS电喷雾正离子多反应监测模式(ESI+-MRM)检测。分析物在0～250μg/kg的浓度范围内呈良好线性,线性相关系数>0.995。方法的定量限为10μg/kg。方法在三个添加水平的平均回收率在71.6%～78.9%之间,相对标准偏差在6.2%～12%之间。方法适用于动物源食品中粘杆菌素和多粘菌素B的定量及确证检测。     

Simultaneous detection of bacitracin and polymyxin B in livestock products using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

With the overarching aim to develop a simple and reliable method for the quantitative analysis of polypeptide antibiotics in various livestock products, the content of bacitracin, and polymyxin B in pork, beef, chicken, milk, and eggs was analyzed using colistin sulfate as an internal standard. The extracted samples were eluted via solid‐phase extraction using 2% formic acid in acetonitrile/methanol (1:1, v/v). The two polypeptides were identified and quantified based on the intensities of mass fragments from the respective triply charged precursor ions (bacitracin: 474.97 amu and polymyxin B: 402 amu) at the defined retention time windows using liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry in time‐scheduled multiple reaction monitoring mode. The calibration curves showed good linearity over the concentration range 50–2500 ng/mL with determination coefficients ≥ 0.991. The mean recoveries were in the range 80.3–88.8% with relative standard deviations <13% for all samples. The limits of quantitation ranged from 30–250 ng/g. The developed method was applied to market samples, but the target analytes were not detected in any of the samples. The developed method is reliable for the simultaneous detection of bacitracin and polymyxin B in pork, beef, chicken, milk, and eggs.     

液相色谱-串联质谱法测定牛奶中5种多肤类抗生素

建立了牛奶中杆菌肽、粘杆菌素A、粘杆菌素B、维吉尼霉素和万占霉素5种多肽类抗生素的反相液相色谱-串联质谱(HPLC-MS/MS)检测方法.牛奶样品经甲醇-0.1%甲酸水提取后,用4%三氯乙酸乙睛除蛋白,液-液萃取后,采用0.1%甲酸(A)和0.1%甲酸乙腈(B)作为流动相进行梯度洗脱.质谱(ESI+)采用多离子检测模式...     

Validation of a novel LC-MS/MS method for the quantitation of colistin A and B in human plasma

A liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method, characterized by complete automation and high-throughput, was developed for the determination of colistin A and B in human plasma. All sample preparation procedures were performed by using 2.2 mL 96-deep-well plates, whereas robotic liquid-handling workstations were utilized for all liquid transfer steps, including solid-phase extraction (SPE). The whole preparation procedure was very rapid, whereas the method had a very short chromatographic run time of just 2 min. Sample analysis was performed by reversed phase LC-MS/MS, with positive electrospray ionization, using multiple reaction monitoring. The absence of available purified colistin A and B standards led to the development of a novel LC method with evaporative light-scattering detector for the determination of their stoichiometries in the standard mixture, along with its purity. The proposed bioanalytical method was fully validated and it was proven to be selective, accurate, precise, reproducible and suitable for the determination of colistin A and B in human plasma. It was applied successfully to a pharmacokinetic study for the determination of both analytes in samples of patients.     

Semi-synthesis of polymyxin B (2-10) and colistin (2-10) analogs employing the Trichloroethoxycarbonyl (Troc) group for side chain protection of alpha,gamma-diaminobutyric acid residues

Improved strategies for the chemical conversion of natural polymyxin B and colistin to their N-terminal analogs are reported. First, the protection of the side chains of five L-alpha,gamma-diaminobutyric acid (Dab) residues in natural polymyxin B and colistin was achieved with trichloroethoxycarbonyl (Troc), then the resulting pentakis(N gamma-Troc)-polymyxin B and pentakis(N gamma)Troc)-colistin were treated with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) : methanesulfonic acid (MSA) : dimethylformamide (DMF) : H2O (10 : 30 : 55 : 5) at 40 degrees C in order to remove N alpha-alkanoyl-Dab(Troc)-OH selectively. The new key compounds, tetrakis(N gamma-Troc)-polymyxin B (2-10) and tetrakis(N gamma-Troc)-colistin (2-10), were obtained in 19% and 15% yields, respectively, which is higher than previous reports using trifluoroacetyl (Tfa) for tetrakis(N gamma-Tfa)-polymyxin B (2-10) and tetrakis(N gamma-Tfa)-colistin (2-10), respectively. Acylation of tetrakis(N gamma-Troc)-polymyxin B (2-10) and tetrakis(N gamma-Troc)-colistin (2-10) with various hydrophobic acids bearing aliphatic or aromatic ring structures, followed by the deprotection of Troc by Zn in AcOH, produced polymyxin B (2-10) and colistin (2-10) analogs which were used for structure-activity relationship studies. It was found that cyclohexylbutanoyl-, 4-biphenylacetyl-, and 1-adamantaneacetyl-polymyxin B (2-10) showed potent antimicrobial activity equal to that of polymyxin B against three Gram-negative bacterial strains. The lipopolysacharide (LPS) binding activity of cyclohexylbutanoyl-, 4-biphenylacetyl-, and cyclododecanecarbonyl-polymyxin B (2-10) increased greatly in comparison with that of polymyxin B (2-10). The various N alpha-acylated polymyxin B (2-10) analogs showed slightly higher antimicrobial and LPS binding activities than the corresponding N alpha-acylated colistin (2-10) analogs.     

Multi-residue determination of phenolic and salicylanilide anthelmintics and related compounds in bovine kidney by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

This paper describes an analytical method for four phenolic and salicylanilide anthelmintics authorised for use within the EU (nitroxinil, oxyclozanide, rafoxanide and closantel) in bovine kidney, and the extension of this procedure to include a number of related compounds; ioxynil, niclosamide, salicylanide and 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM). The method comprises a solvent extraction with 1% acetic acid in acetone and clean-up using a mixed-mode anion-exchange solid phase extraction column. Determination is by reversed phase LC–MS/MS. The method was validated to the latest EU requirements (Commission Decision 2002/657/EC) using both spiked and incurred tissues and was subject to second laboratory evaluation.     

Determination of aminoglycoside residues by liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry in a variety of matrices

A quantitative LC–MS/MS method was developed for the determination of 13 commonly used aminoglycoside antibiotics in meat (pork muscle, fish, and veal livers and kidneys). The proposed method is sufficiently sensitive and highly selective. Unlike other previously reported methods, it uses a simple clean-up procedure based on a strong cation-exchange solid-phase cartridge that permits high sample extract loading volumes. A unique elution regime based on a volatile buffer at intermediately high pH value in combination with an organic solvent provides quantitative elution of the various aminoglycosides. This methodology ensured that neither a breakthrough of weakly retained aminoglycosides (e.g. spectinomycin) nor the incomplete elution of strongly retained analytes (e.g. neo- and gentamycin) is observed. The single-step clean-up is fast and produces clean extracts that minimize matrix-related signal suppression in the electrospray interface.     

高效液相色谱-电喷雾串联质谱法快速测定纺织品中苯氧羧酸类除草剂残留量

建立了纺织品中7种苯氧羧酸类除草剂的高效液相色谱-电喷雾串联质谱(LC-ESI-MS/MS)快速检测方法.样品经甲酸酸化的丙酮溶液超声提取两次,无需其它净化过程.液相色谱使用C18反相色谱柱,流动相为醋酸铵水溶液和甲醇,在梯度条件下分析.在选择反应检测(SRM)负离子模式下进行质谱信号采集,采用两对同位素离子对进行定性和定量分析.选取3种有代表性的纺织品进行方法检出限(LOD)、定量限(LOQ)、线性、回收率和精密度的验证.方法的LOQ为 0.9～2.4 μg/kg; 回收率为85%～106%; 相对标准偏差为2%～11%.本方法简便、有效、可靠、灵敏,能够满足国际生态纺织品标准(Oeko-Tex Standard 100)的限量要求,适用于纺织品中苯氧羧酸类除草剂的日常检测及确证.     

A simplified protein precipitation/mixed-mode cation-exchange solid-phase extraction, followed by high-speed liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry, for the determination of a basic drug in human plasma

A simplified protein precipitation/mixed-mode cation-exchange solid-phase extraction (PPT/SPE) procedure has been investigated. A mixture of acetonitrile and methanol along with formic acid was used to precipitate plasma proteins prior to selectively extracting the basic drug. After vortexing and centrifugation, the supernatants were directly loaded onto an unconditioned Oasis MCX microElution 96-well extraction plate, where the protonated drug was retained on the negatively charged sorbent while interfering neutral lipids, steroids or other endogenous materials were washed away. Normal wash steps were deemed unnecessary and not used before sample elution. The sample extracts were analyzed under both conventional and high-speed liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) conditions to examine the feasibility of the PPT/SPE procedure for human plasma sample clean-up. For the conventional LC/MS/MS method, chromatographic separation was achieved on a C18, 2.1 x 50 mm column with gradient elution (k' = 5.5). The mobile phase contained 0.1% formic acid in water and 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile. For the high-speed LC/MS/MS method, chromatographic separation was achieved on a C18, 2.1 x 10 mm guard column with gradient elution (k' = 2.2, Rt = 0.26 min). The mobile phase contained 0.1% formic acid in water and 0.001% trifluoroacetic acid in acetonitrile. Detection for both conventional and high-speed LC/MS/MS methods was by positive ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry on a ThermoElectron Finnigan TSQ Quantum Ultra, where enhanced resolution (RP 2000; 0.2 amu) was used for high-speed LC/MS/MS. The standard curve, ranging from 0.5 to 100 ng/mL, was fitted to a 1/x weighted quadratic regression model.This combined PPT/SPE procedure effectively eliminated time-consuming sorbent conditioning and wash steps, which are essential for a conventional mixed-mode SPE procedure, but retained the advantages of both PPT (removal of plasma proteins) and mixed-mode SPE (analyte selectivity). The validation results demonstrated that this PPT/SPE procedure was well suited for both conventional and high-speed LC/MS/MS analyses. In comparison with a conventional mixed-mode SPE procedure, the simplified PPT/SPE process provided comparable sample extract purity. This simple sample clean-up procedure can be applied to other basic compounds with minor modifications of PPT solvents.     

Determination of flunitrazepam and 7-aminoflunitrazepam in human urine by on-line solid phase extraction liquid chromatography-electrospray-tandem mass spectrometry

A method using an on-line solid phase extraction (SPE) and liquid chromatography with electrospray-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ES-MS/MS) for the determination of flunitrazepam (FM2) and 7-aminoflunitrazepam (7-aminoFM2) in urine was developed. A mixed mode Oasis HLB SPE cartridge column was utilized for on-line extraction. A reversed phase C₁₈ LC column was employed for LC separation and MS/MS was used for detection. Sample extraction, clean-up and elution were performed automatically and controlled by a six-port valve. Recoveries ranging from 94.8 to 101.3% were measured. For both 7-aminoFM2 and FM2, dual linear ranges were determined from 20 to 200 and 200-2000 ng/ml, respectively. The detection limit for each analyte based on a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 ranged from 1 to 3 ng/ml. The intra-day and inter-day precision showed coefficients of variance (CV) ranging from 4.6 to 8.5 and 2.6-9.2%, respectively. The applicability of this newly developed method was examined by analyzing several urine samples.     

液相色谱串联四极杆质谱法同时测定婴幼儿配方食品中甲基香兰素和乙基香兰素

建立了混合阴离子交换固相萃取柱净化,液相色谱串联四极杆质谱法测定婴幼儿配方食品中甲基香兰素和乙基香兰素的方法.样品经水和乙腈提取,CuSO4溶液沉淀蛋白,NaOH调节pH,增加样品溶解性,阴离子交换固相萃取柱净化.目标化合物在梯度洗脱条件下经C18柱分离后采用ESI源负离子多反应监测模式进行检测.分别选取了婴幼儿配方乳...     

Determination of aromatic sulfonic acids in industrial waste water by ion-pair chromatography

A method for the identification and quantification of aromatic sulfonic acids in industrial waste water has been developed. The preparation of the samples comprises a clean-up step and an enrichment step, utilizing i) reversed-phase extraction and ii) ion-pair solid phase extraction. The aromatic sulfonic acids are separated by ion-pair chromatography with diode-array detection. An advantage of the developed ion-pair chromatographic method is the separation of linear alkylbenzenesulfonic acids (LAS), lignosulfonic acids and aromatic sulfonic acids in one chromatographic run. Also described is an optimized clean-up procedure for collected fractions of a preparative chromatographic run to identify monosulfonic acids with GC/MS after methylation. The detection limits for aromatic sulfonic acids in industrial waste waters are at the g/l level.     

液相色谱-四极杆/静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱快速分析动物源性食品中多肽类药物残留

建立了液相色谱-四极杆/静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱(Q/Exactive)分析鸡肉、鸡肝、鸡肾、猪肉、猪肝、猪肾、牛奶和鸡蛋中粘杆菌素A、粘杆菌素B、多粘菌素B、杆菌肽A和维吉尼霉素M的方法。动物源性食品采用1%(体积分数)乙酸乙腈-水(体积比为8∶2)超声提取,提取液直接经C18液相色谱柱分离。在电喷雾正离子模式下,四极杆质谱在m/z 1.2隔离窗口下过滤一级带电离子,高分辨静电场轨道阱质谱在35 000分辨率下进行目标物子离子全扫描(targeted-MS2)。根据5种多肽类药物的高分辨分子离子峰、同位素分布、特征子离子信息建立数据库,采用Trace Finder 3.0软件实现定性检索。为解决多肽类药物残留测定结果重复性差的难题,系统地评价了5种多肽类药物的关键操作技术条件,发现导致该类药物降解的主要因素包括:提取时间、玻璃器皿、存放时间。该方法测定5种多肽类药物时,测定结果的质量精度均小于5×10-6,维吉尼霉素M的定量限(LOQ)为0.5μg/kg,另外4种多肽类药物的LOQ均为10μg/kg。在0.25~500μg/kg范围内,5种多肽类药物的峰面积与质量浓度呈良好的线性关系,相关系数R2≥0.993 1,方法回收率为67.4%~108.9%,相对标准偏差为4.5%~17.2%。该方法操作简单,测定结果准确,可用于动物源性食品中多肽类药物残留的高通量测定。     

High turbulence liquid chromatography online extraction and tandem mass spectrometry for the simultaneous determination of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid and its two metabolites in human serum

A reliable and sensitive method incorporating high turbulence liquid chromatography (HTLC) online extraction with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), for simultaneous determination of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) and its two metabolites, SAHA-glucuronide (M1) and 4-anilino-4-oxobutanoic acid (M2), in human serum, has been developed to support clinical studies. The HTLC technology significantly reduces the time required for sample clean-up since sample extraction and analysis are performed online. Clinical samples, internal standards (IS) and buffer are transferred into 96-well plates using a robotic liquid handling system. A 20 microL aliquot of prepared sample is directly injected into the HTLC/LC-MS/MS system where the matrix is rapidly washed away to waste and the analytes are retained on the narrow-bore extraction column (0.5 x 50 mm), using an aqueous mobile phase at 1.5 mL/min. Analytes are then eluted from the extraction column and transferred to the analytical column using a gradient mobile phase prior to detection by MS/MS. Interference with determination of SAHA from in-source dissociation of M1 is eliminated by the chromatographic separation. The resolution of SAHA and M1 did not change for more than 1500 serum sample injections by applying an acid wash (15% acetic acid) on the extraction column. The linear calibration ranges for SAHA, M1, and M2 are 2-500, 5-2000, and 10-2000 ng/mL, respectively. Assay intraday validation was conducted using five calibration curves prepared in five lots of human control serum. The precision expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD) is less than 6.8% and accuracy is 94.6-102.9% of nominal values for all three analytes. Assay specificity, freeze/thaw stability, storage stability, and matrix effects were also assessed.     

Simultaneous determination of fumonisins B1, B2 and B3 contaminants in maize by ultra high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

The present work developed an analytical method for simultaneous determination of fumonisins B(1), B(2) and B(3) residues in maize by ultra high-performance liquid chromatography combined with electrospray ionization triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) under the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, and especially focused on the optimization of extraction, clean-up, UHPLC separation and MS/MS parameters. The method involves addition of fumonisins isotope internal standards, extraction with a mixture of acetonitrile and water and clean-up with solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges before UHPLC-MS/MS analysis. A single-laboratory method validation was conducted by testing three different spiking levels for repeatability and recovery according to International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) guidelines. The LOQ of FB(1), FB(2) and FB(3) were 1.50, 1.65 and 0.4 μg kg(-1), respectively, which were lower than the criteria of EU, USA and other countries regarding minimum residue limits of fumonisins in foods including baby foods and feedstuffs. Recoveries of three fumonisins ranged from 80.9% to 97.0% with RSD values of 2.4-11.1%.The advantages of this method include simple pretreatment, rapid determination and high sensitivity, and it fulfills the requirements for food analysis with respect to minimum residue limits of fumonisins in various countries.     

Comparison of an acetonitrile extraction/partitioning and "dispersive solid-phase extraction" method with classical multi-residue methods for the extraction of herbicide residues in barley samples

An acetonitrile/partitioning extraction and "dispersive solid-phase extraction (SPE)" method that provides high quality results with a minimum number of steps and a low solvent and glassware consumption was published in 2003. This method, suitable for the analysis of multiple classes of pesticide residues in foods, has been given an acronymic name, QuEChERS, that reflects its major advantages (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, safe). In this work, QuEChERS method, which was originally created for vegetable samples with a high amount of water, was modified to optimise the extraction of a wide range of herbicides in barley. Then, it was compared with known conventional multi-residue extraction procedures such as the Luke method, which was simplified and shortened by eliminating the Florisil clean-up (mini Luke) and the ethyl acetate extraction, which involves a subsequent clean-up by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and which is the official extraction method used by some of European authorities. Finally, a simple acetone extraction was carried out to check the differences with the other three methods. Extracts were analysed by gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF/MS) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Mini Luke was significantly more effective for the extraction of non-polar and medium-polar compounds, but the best recoveries for polar compounds were achieved by QuEChERS and ethyl acetate methods. QuEChERS was the only method that provided an overall recovery value of 60-70% for non-, medium- and polar compounds, with some exceptions due to co-eluted matrix interferences. Clean-up by dispersive SPE was effective and did not differ so much with ethyl acetate extracts considering that QuEChERS clean-up step is much easier and less time-consuming. As a conclusion, it resulted to be the most universal extraction method by providing a well-defined phase separation without dilution and achieving acceptable recoveries in average including the extraction of the always difficult acidic herbicides. However, recoveries were not as good as required for validation purposes suggesting that residues are prone to strong matrix interactions in dry samples as barley and further method adaptation incrementing solvent strength, extraction time or more acidic or basic conditions is needed in order to achieve a complete extraction.     

Zirconium silicate assisted removal of residual proteins after organic solvent deproteinization of human plasma,enhancing the stability of the LC–ESI-MS response for the bioanalysis of small molecules

An efficient blood plasma clean-up method was developed, where methanol protein precipitation was applied, followed by zirconium silicate assisted exclusion of residual proteins. A strong binding of zirconium (IV) silicate to the proteins enabled the elimination of remaining proteins after solvent deproteinization through a rapid solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI/TOF MS) was used for monitoring the proteins during clean-up practice applied to human plasma samples. The proteins were quantified by colorimetric detection using the bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assay. The presented analytical strategy resulted in the depletion of >99.6% proteins from human plasma samples. Furthermore, high-performance liquid chromatography hyphenated to diode-array and electrospray ionization mass spectrometric detection (HPLC–DAD/ESI MS) was applied for qualitative and quantitative analysis of the caffeoylquinic acids (CQAs) and their metabolites in human plasma. The procedure demonstrated high recoveries for the standard compounds spiked at different concentrations. Cynarin and chlorogenic acid were recovered in the range of 81–86% and 78–83%, respectively. Caffeic acid was extracted in the excess of 89–92%, while ferulic acid and dihydroxyhydrocinnamic acid showed a recovery of 87–91% and 92–95%, respectively. The method was partially validated in accordance with FDA-Industry Guidelines for Bioanalytical Method Validation (2001). The presented scheme improves the clean-up efficacy of the methanol deproteinization, significantly reduces the matrix effects and provides a great analytical tool for the isolation of small molecules from human plasma.     

固相萃取-超高效液相色谱-电喷雾串联质谱法测定调味品中的罗丹明B

利用超高效液相色谱-电喷雾串联质谱(UPLC-MS/MS)方法测定了调味品中罗丹明B。样品经乙腈-乙酸水溶液提取后,经固相萃取(SPE)柱净化,采用BEH C18柱分离,以乙腈和0.2%的甲酸水溶液为流动相进行梯度洗脱,采用正离子、多反应监测(MRM)模式进行定性定量测定。罗丹明B在0.5～500μg/L质量浓度范围内线性关系良好,相关系数r为0.999,检出限、定量限分别为0.03,0.10μg/kg;平均回收率为86.6%～95.7%,标准偏差小于10%。方法适用于调味品中罗丹明B的测定。     

Mass spectrometric fragmentation of cyclic peptides belonging to the polymyxin and colistin antibiotics studied by ion trap and quadrupole/orthogonal-acceleration time-of-flight technology

Electrospray ionization linked to quadrupole/orthogonal-acceleration time-of-flight (Q/oaTOF) and ion trap equipment was used to study the fragmentation behavior of the linear side-chain cyclized peptides of the polymyxin B and E antibiotics. This study exemplifies both the benefits and the drawbacks of mass spectrometric techniques for the determination of the sequence of such complex linear side-chain cyclized peptides. Q/oaTOF accurate mass measurements did not help sufficiently to assign the product ions observed in the product ion spectra. An ion trap mass spectrometer providing MS(n) capability was used to eliminate ambiguities encountered with a single MS/MS approach. The complex fragmentation behavior of these compounds of well-established structure is described which could be useful for structural characterization of unknown substances related to polymyxin B and E in the future.