New generation separation and identification methods for erythromycin

Abstract

Erythromycin is an antibiotic which can effectively deal with a broad spectrum of Gram-positive bacterial pathogens and is usually used by people who have allergy to penicillin. During production of erythromycin, downstream processing contributes to a high portion of the production costs due to the nature of the broth. Conventional liquid-liquid extraction method has the problems of having limited choice of solvents and formation of emulsion which greatly hinders the separation process. Recently, various separation and purification alternatives can be found in literature such as pre-dispersed solvent extraction, ionic liquids, membrane filtration, liquid membrane, adsorption, and reverse micelle extraction. The improvements of downstream processing for antibiotics are necessary not only to enhance the quantity and quality of antibiotic products but also to improve the process itself to be more sustainable and environmental friendly.