Abstract
TRYPAN blue has been shown to produce reticulosis and reticulo-sarcoma as well as congenital malformations when injected subcutaneously into rats1,2. Considerable differences in the biological activity of various commercial preparations of trypan blue have been found, and it has been suggested that these are due to variations in the amount and kind of impurities present3,4. Commercial trypan blue is known to contain a red impurity which is more diffusible than trypan blue itself and which is excreted rapidly in the urine5–7. This material has been separated from trypan blue by extraction with ethyl alcohol8 or with acetone7 or by passing through a cellulose column7,9. Although this red fraction causes some resorptions, when injected into pregnant rats, it does not appear to produce congenital malformations4,9. This suggests the possible presence of other active impurities in trypan blue.
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DIJKSTRA, J., GILLMAN, J. Chromatographic Separation of Biologically Active Components from Commercial Trypan Blue. Nature 191, 803–804 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1038/191803a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/191803a0
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