Oxidized forms of polyene antibiotic amphotericin B

Amphotericin B (AmB) is one of the most important drug for the medical treatment of internal fungal infections. In this work we study electronic absorption and fluorescence properties of AmB in aqueous solution upon adding strong oxidizing agent. Particularly, we focus on the origin of the emission band ∼470 nm, which has been previously assigned to either formation of AmB dimers or to tetraene and pentaenes impurities. We find clear correlation between appearance of this band and oxidation of AmB, therefore, we conclude that the emission with maximum ∼470 nm is mainly related to the oxidation of AmB chromophore.