Study of erythromycin A decomposition products in aqueous solution by solid-phase microextraction/liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

The decomposition of erythromycin A (EA) in aqueous solution was examined in the pH range 2-13 by means of combined solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Degradation of EA, especially at lower pH values (pH < or = 3), was very rapid and yielded a wide variety of decomposition products. Identification of these degradation products was achieved by means of tandem mass spectrometry in the product ion and precursor ion scan modes. Anhydroerythromycin A was shown to be the major reaction product in both acidic and basic solutions. Among the different SPME fibers investigated for extraction from aqueous solutions, polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene exhibited the best performance for EA and its degradation products.