Purification of 9-Anthracenemethanol as a Fluorescent-Labeling Reagent for Microanalysis of Fatty Acids

A fluorescent-labeling reagent 9-anthracenemethanol was purified by recrystallization for use in microanalysis of natural oil fatty acids. A commercial reagent was dissolved in ethyl acetate at the boiling point, and allowed to stand at room temperature until the crystals precipitated in yellow needles. The product given in the yield of 74% was analyzed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Many contaminant peaks found in the crude material disappeared in the chromatogram, indicating successful purification of the reagent. The purified reagent could be used for fatty acid analysis of 1-5μg of natural triacylglycerols including those of cod liver/mackerel oil and bonito head oil. 2-Butanone was also effective solvent for the purification. With these solvents, commercially available 9-anthracenemethanol can be purified by the simple recrystallization