An Improved Electrophoretic Method for Identifying Antibiotics with Special Reference to Animal Tissues and Animal Feeding Stuffs

Abstract

Fifty antibacterial agents, mainly antibiotics, were examined by a high voltage electrophoretic technique which determined their migration distances in agar and agarose gels at pH 6.0 and 8.0. Comparison of the different migration distances in the 2 gels formed the basis for identification. Bio-autography, using Bacillus cereus var. mycoides or Micrococcus luteus, was used to visualize the antibiotics. The method was satisfactory for identifying many antibiotics in animal tissues and animal feeding stuffs, and was capable of distinguishing antibiotic activity from that of naturally occurring inhibitors often present in those materials. It was also used to identify antibiotics in urine and pharmaceutical preparations, and a wider application in medical microbiology is indicated.