Determination of Myriocin in Natural and Cultured Cordyceps cicadae Using 9-Fluorenylmethyl Chloroformate Derivatization and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with UV-Detection

A simple and sensitive reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method, based on the precolumn derivatization with 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate, was developed for the determination of myriocin. The derivatization reaction was performed in organic solvents of pyridine and tetrahydrofuran at 40°C. Several factors influencing the derivative yield were investigated and optimized. The formed derivative was stable for more than 24 h at room temperature. The detection wavelength was 262 nm. The system offered the following analytical parameters: the limit of detection was 0.045 µg ml −1 , the linear correlation coefficient was 0.9963 and the linear range response was from 2.0 to 500.0 µg ml −1 . The precision of the method was <2.0%. As a preliminary application, the method has been successfully applied to the determination of myriocin in natural and cultured Cordyceps cicadae.