Structural Characterization of the Oligosaccharide Antibiotics Everninomicins by Negative Ion FAB and ESI/MS

Everninomicins are an important group of oligosaccharide antibiotics, isolated from the fermentation broth, Micromonospora carbonaceae, and are found to be highly active against Gram-positive bacteria including methicillin resistant Staphylococci and vancomycin resistant Enterococci. With the emergence of drug resistant strains of bacteria, this class of antibiotics is gaining an increasing importance. Currently, the everninomicin component ziracin (13-384-1, SCII 27899, Schering-Plough Corporation) is the most promising drug candidate from the everninomicin family and is undergoing extensive trials to determine its clinical efficacy.