Schiff reagent
| Classification | Colorimetric method |
|---|---|
| Analytes | Aldehydes |
The Schiff test is an early organic chemistry name reaction developed by Hugo Schiff, and is a relatively general chemical test for detection of many organic aldehydes that has also found use in the staining of biological tissues. The Schiff reagent is the reaction product of a dye formulation such as fuchsin and sodium bisulfite; pararosaniline (which lacks an aromatic methyl group) and new fuchsin (which is uniformly mono-methylated ortho to the dye's amine functionalities) are dye alternatives with comparable detection chemistry.
In its use as a qualitative test for aldehydes, the unknown sample is added to the decolorized Schiff reagent; when aldehyde is present a characteristic magenta color develops. Schiff-type reagents are used for various biological tissue staining methods, e.g. Feulgen stain and periodic acid-Schiff stain. Human skin also contains aldehyde functional groups in the termini of saccharides and so is stained as well.
Fuchsin solutions appear colored due to the visible wavelength absorbance of its central quinoid structure—see also for example viologen —but are "decolorized" upon sulfonation of the dye at its central carbon atom by sulfurous acid or its conjugate base, bisulfite. This reaction disrupts the otherwise favored delocalized extended pi-electron system and resonance in the parent molecule.
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