An Interpretation of the Mass Spectra of Salinomycin and Its Derivatives

Abstract

Salinomycin is a new polyether antibiotic elaborated by Streptomyces albus. An interpretation of the mass spectra of salinomycin and its derivatives has been achieved with the aid of high resolution mass spectrometry along with measurement of the metastable ions. Interesting aspects of the mass spectral data of these compounds are that the characteristic cleavage occurred at the ring C of the tricyclic spiroketal system, and that the sodium salts of salinomycin itself and some derivatives thereof are volatile enough to give distinct spectra which showed fragmentations comparable with those of the free acid and the methyl ester.
An interpretation of the principal fragment ions and their formation mechanism for salinomycin and its derivatives is discussed.