Separation of polypeptide antibiotics by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

Summary The influence of different reversed-phase packings and the addition of acidic modifiers to the mobile phase was observed on the separation of basic and neutral polypeptide antibiotics by gradient elution. A dependence of pore size, coverage, reaction type and endcapping of the packings was not observed. Nevertheless, not all reversed-phase packings were suitable for the separation of polypeptides, especially of basic molecules. The addition of phosphoric or perchloric acid to the mobile phase prevented adsorption of the basic polypeptide antibiotics on the stationary phase.