Sensitivity of VCD spectroscopy for small structural and stereochemical changes of macrolide antibiotics

We report the application of VCD spectroscopy for the characterization of clarithromycin and erythromycin. We show that the VCD spectra of these large macrolides are distinctly different and that spectra calculations reproduce the experimentally observed VCD signatures. In addition, computed VCD spectra of different epimers indicate that they should also be distinguishable from the correct structure of clarithromycin.