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.