Identification
To a quantity of the Oral Suspension add a volume of methanol sufficient to yield a solution having a concentration equivalent to about 2.5 mg of erythromycin per mL. Shake this mixture by mechanical means for about 30 minutes. Centrifuge a portion of this mixture, and use the clear supernatant as the test solution. Prepare a Standard solution of
USP Erythromycin Ethylsuccinate RS in methanol containing about 3 mg per mL. Apply separately 10 µL each of the test solution and the Standard solution to a suitable thin-layer chromatographic plate (see
Chromatography 621) coated with a 0.25-mm layer of chromatographic silica gel mixture, and allow to dry. Place the plate in an unlined chromatographic chamber, and develop the chromatograms in a solvent system consisting of a mixture of methanol and chloroform (85:15) until the solvent front has moved about 9 cm. Remove the plate from the chamber, mark the solvent front, and allow the solvent to evaporate. Spray the plate with a mixture of dehydrated alcohol,
p-methoxybenzaldehyde, and sulfuric acid (90:5:5). Heat the plate at 100
for 10 minutes, and examine the chromatograms, in which the erythromycin and succinic acid moieties appear as black-to-purple spots: the
RF values of the principal spots obtained from the test solution correspond to those obtained from the Standard solution.
Assay
Proceed as directed for erythromycin under
AntibioticsMicrobial Assays 81, using an accurately measured volume of Oral Suspension, freshly mixed and free from air bubbles, blended for 4 ± 1 minutes in a high-speed glass blender jar with sufficient methanol to give a stock solution containing the equivalent of about 1 mg of erythromycin per mL. Dilute this stock solution quantitatively with
Buffer No. 3 to obtain a
Test Dilution having a concentration assumed to be equal to the median dose level of the Standard.