Identification of actinomycins by high performance liquid chromatography and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry.

An actinomycin complex isolated from culture broth of a soil microorganism, SNUS 9305011 has been examined by High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). From the analysis of the fractions obtained by column chromatography of the ethyl acetate extract, three actinomycin components are confirmed. The HPLC analysis is carried out with a CN-bonded nucleosil column. Comparison of the retention times of the components with those of actinomycin D, C complex X0 beta, and V suggests that they are different actinomycins. FAB mass spectra of the components also shows different molecular ions from those of standards and other reported actinomycins. The present work was has demonstrated that actinomycin components can be separated by a CN-bonded HPLC column, and that comparison of their HPLC chromatograms with authentic samples and information on their molecular ions can be successfully employed for identification of actinomycins.