A BIOSYNTHETIC ROUTE TO [C-14] LABELED RHAMNOLIPIDS

After feeding 200 mg of [U-C-14]-D-glucose (8.25 MBq/mmol; 9.16 MBq) t o a culture of Pseudomonas aeruginosa DSM 2659, the rhamnolipids RL-1 and RL-2 produced by the microorganism were obtained in uniformely C-1 4-labelled form as crude fraction by extraction of the medium. The fra ction was analyzed by TLC and HPLC. Cleavage with HCl gave rhamnose (i dentified by TLC) and beta-hydroxydecanoic acid (identified by TLC and GC-MS). The radiochemical yields were 1.19 % for RL-1 and 1.15 % for RL-2; specific activities amounted to 23.191 and 27.062 MBq/mmol, resp ectively.