Ninhydrin

Ninhydrin
Ninhydrin
Names
Preferred IUPAC name
2,2-Dihydroxy-1H-indene-1,3(2H)-dione
Other names
2,2-Dihydroxyindane-1,3-dione
1,2,3-Indantrione hydrate
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChEMBL
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.006.926 Edit this at Wikidata
EC Number
  • 213-340-1
UNII
  • InChI=1S/C9H6O4/c10-7-5-3-1-2-4-6(5)8(11)9(7,12)13/h1-4,12-13H checkY
    Key: FEMOMIGRRWSMCU-UHFFFAOYSA-N checkY
  • InChI=1/C9H6O4/c10-7-5-3-1-2-4-6(5)8(11)9(7,12)13/h1-4,12-13H
    Key: FEMOMIGRRWSMCU-UHFFFAOYAM
  • O=C2c1ccccc1C(=O)C2(O)O
Properties
C9H6O4
Molar mass 178.143 g·mol−1
Appearance White solid
Density 0.862 g/cm3
Melting point 250 °C (482 °F; 523 K) (decomposes)
20 g L−1[1]
Hazards
GHS labelling:
GHS07: Exclamation mark
Warning
H302, H315, H319, H335
P261, P264, P270, P271, P280, P301+P312, P302+P352, P304+P340, P305+P351+P338, P312, P321, P330, P332+P313, P337+P313, P362, P403+P233, P405, P501
Safety data sheet (SDS) External MSDS
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Ninhydrin (2,2-dihydroxyindane-1,3-dione) is an organic compound with the formula C6H4(CO)2C(OH)2. It is used to detect ammonia and amines. Upon reaction with these amines, ninhydrin gets converted into deep blue or purple derivatives, which are called Ruhemann's purple. Ninhydrin is most commonly used to detect fingerprints in forensic cases, as the terminal amines of lysine residues in peptides and proteins sloughed off in fingerprints react with ninhydrin.[2][3]

Ninhydrin is a white solid that is soluble in ethanol and acetone.[1] Ninhydrin can be considered as the hydrate of indane-1,2,3-trione.

  1. ^ a b Chemicals and reagents, 2008–2010, Merck
  2. ^ "Fingerprinting Analysis". Bergen County Technical Schools. June 2003. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007.
  3. ^ Rowe, Walter F. (2015). "Forensic Chemistry". Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. pp. 1–19. doi:10.1002/0471238961.0615180506091908.a01.pub3. ISBN 9780471238966.