GB616955A - Improvements in or relating to the treatment of streptomycin solutions - Google Patents

Abstract

The separation or concentration of streptomycin from solutions thereof (e.g. those obtained by the fermentation of nutrient media by organisms of the genus Actinomyces, or partially concentrated or purified or partially purified solutions) is effected by contacting a solution of streptomycin with a synthetic inorganic base exchange alumino-silicate and thereafter eluting adsorbed streptomycin with a solution of a material capable of displacing the streptomycin by base exchange. The process, which may be combined with a treatment with charcoal or activated carbon, is preferably carried out by passing the solution undergoing treatment through a tower or column of the alumino-silicate and then passing the eluting solution in the same or the opposite direction of flow. Advantageously a plurality of portions of the eluting medium are employed and the second or any subsequent eluent portion is subsequently used in an earlier stage of the elution of a freshly charged alumino-silicate. In an example, streptomycin broth is passed through a bed of Biological Grade "Decalso" (Registered Trade Mark) and elution is effected with dilute aqueous sodium chloride solution, which is collected in portions. Other base-exchange materials specified are those known under the Registered Trade Marks "Basex" and "Doucil" and the Trade Name "Burgess Zeolite."