Roughing with Carbon
In the early days of the antibiotic industry, adsorption on
carbon was a primary method of purification. Filtered fermentation
broth was passed through carbon columns, and the product was eluted
from the carbon with solutions such as acidified ethanol or acetone.
The yields were terrible, but good alternatives had not been found
for getting the desired compounds into solutions of higher
concentrations and purities. Most antibiotics are now purified with
either ion exchange or extraction into an immiscible solvent as the
primary step. Although unattractive, adsorption on carbon is a last
resort when nothing else is practical. It is unselective and low in
capacity but provides a roughing step to get the purification scheme
started.
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