DEGRADATION OF PENICILLIN-V IN FERMENTATION MEDIA

In industrial production of penicillin there is a noticeable loss of the product through degradation reactions. It is shown that the degradation of penicillin-V, both in a complex and in a chemically defined medium, can be separated into a phosphate-catalyzed conversion of penicillin-V to penicilloic-V acid, overlaid by at least one other reaction in which penicillin V is degraded to as yet unknown products. Parameter values for the phosphate-catalyzed degradation are found to be independent of the type of fermentation medium. The rate of formation of other degradation products of penicillin-V is found to be significantly higher in a complex fermentation medium with corn-steep liquor than in a chemically defined medium. (C) 1994 John Wiley and Sons, inc.