Isolation of gentamicin C compounds from culture filtrates of Micromonospora purpurea

A liquid chromatographic method was developed for the isolation of gentamicin C compounds from commercial fermentation products in order to monitor health hazards (oto- and nephrotoxicity). Chromatography was carried out on silica gel 60 (15-40 microns) with a medium-pressure chromatographic system, employing methanol-25% ammonia solution (85:15, v/v) and methanol-chloroform-25% ammonia solution (20:10:5, v/v) as mobile phases. The eluted fractions were neutralized with 1.0 M hydrochloric acid, concentrated in vacuo and desalted by gel filtration. It was possible to demonstrate by 1H NMR spectroscopy and high-performance liquid and thin-layer chromatography that the separated fractions contained components C1, C1a and C2 in purities of more than 95%.