Identification of Penicillin G Metabolites under Various Environmental Conditions Using UHPLC-MS/MS

• Published in: Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 2016-08, Vol.64 (31), p.6100-6107
• Main Authors: Aldeek, Fadi, Canzani, Daniele, Standland, Matthew, Crosswhite, Mark R., Hammack, Walter, Gerard, Ghislain, Cook, Jo-Marie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - metabolism; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid - methods; Citrus - chemistry; Citrus - metabolism; Half-Life; Penicillin G - chemistry; Penicillin G - metabolism; Plant Diseases - prevention & control; Tandem Mass Spectrometry - methods
• ISSN: 0021-8561; 1520-5118
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.5b06150

In this work, we investigate the stability of penicillin G in various conditions including acidic, alkaline, natural acidic matrices and after treatment of citrus trees that are infected with citrus greening disease. The identification, confirmation, and quantitation of penicillin G and its various metabolites were evaluated using two UHPLC-MS/MS systems with variable capabilities (i.e., Thermo Q Exactive Orbitrap and Sciex 6500 QTrap). Our data show that under acidic and alkaline conditions, penicillin G at 100 ng/mL degrades quickly, with a determined half-life time of approximately 2 h. Penillic acid, penicilloic acid, and penilloic acid are found to be the most abundant metabolites of penicillin G. These major metabolites, along with isopenillic acid, are found when penicillin G is used for treatment of citrus greening infected trees. The findings of this study will provide insight regarding penicillin G residues in agricultural and biological applications.