Ehrlich's reagent

Ehrlich's reagent <a href="/facts/Eponym/2q9tXlTQ">or</a> Ehrlich reagent is a <a href="/facts/Reagent/c3GLInCu">reagent</a> containing <a href="/facts/Para-Dimethylaminobenzaldehyde/9eCMb2S6">p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde</a> (DMAB) and thus can act as an indicator to presumptively identify <a href="/facts/Indole/HT72P6e6">indoles</a> and <a href="/facts/Urobilinogen/XNrgPqpb">urobilinogen</a>. Several Ehrlich tests use the reagent in a <a href="/facts/Medical_test/rRgnuQSD">medical test</a>; some are <a href="/facts/Drug_test/lThw7FSl">drug tests</a> and others contribute to <a href="/facts/Medical_diagnosis/J47rvb0p">diagnosis</a> of various <a href="/facts/Disease/55eeQlGL">diseases</a> or <a href="/facts/Adverse_drug_reaction/Ea0ktF6J">adverse drug reactions</a>. It is named after Nobel Prize winner <a href="/facts/Paul_Ehrlich/6XM57Clc">Paul Ehrlich</a> who used it to distinguish <a href="/facts/Typhoid/bKPTIYLl">typhoid</a> from simple <a href="/facts/Diarrhoea/6TBHaRdA">diarrhoea</a>.
The Ehrlich reagent works by binding to the C2 position of two indole moieties to form a resonance stabilised carbenium ion compound.

Ehrlich's reagent open-in-new

Ehrlich's reagent