Polymerization of penicillins. IV. Separation, isolation and characterization of ampicillin polymers formed in aqueous solution.

Polymeric substances formed from ampicillin sodium in aqueous solution have been separated according to charge by anion-exchange chromatography on a column of DEAE-Sephadex A-25 using a linear sodium chloride gradient at a constant pH of 7.4. The separated materials, ranging in size from the monomer to the octamer, have been characterized by various functional-group analyses. A homogeneous well-defined ampicillin dimer, tetramer and hexamer have been isolated from the effluent in high yields. The separation and isolation of the ampicillin polymers permit a conclusive establishment of their structures, which in turn has confirmed previous suggestions that the polymers are formed through a chain process involving aminolysis of ampicillin at the beta-lactam carbonyl moiety by the amino group of the side-chain of a second ampicillin molecule.