Microcrystal tests

Name Other Names or Variants Reactive Species Use or Targets Likely Mechanism 

Dragendorff Kraut s Bi Alkaloids, cholines, TLC developer Ion pair with Bl3 complex 

Ferric chloride Fe3+ Salicylates (aspirin family), phenols Colored complex 

Froedhe Frodhe (older literature) Mo acidic Alkaloids Colored complex 

Mandelin s Ammonium vanadate V cation Steroids, alkaloids, aspirin Colored complex 

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Sunshine (10) and Clarke (6) give two microcrystal tests, both from aqueous solution (a) lead iodide-potassium acetate reagent forms dense rosettes ... 

A solution of 0.1 w/v of reserpine in concentrated hydrochloric acid was used for the following microcrystal tests -... 

Color and microcrystal tests for commonly abused drugs... 

Microcrystal tests can be performed to identify tropane alkaloids from animal tissues (57). 

C. C. Fulton, Modern Microcrystal Tests for Drugs, p. 134. Wiley (Interscience), New York, 1969. 

A test used to confirm the presence of blood. It is a microcrystal test exploiting the characteristic appearance of haemochromogen crystals observed under a microscope. The test was introduced in Japan in 1912 by Masao Takayama. 

The microcrystallization of lichen substances was developed mainly by Asahina (1936-1940) and Asahina and Shibata (1954). The microcrystal test can be performed on a microscope slide with a high degree of accuracy and speed. The substances are identified by their characteristic crystal formation in various reagents. Because of its simplicity, the method is rapidly accepted by lichenologists and has been used for chemo-taxonomic work on lichens. 

E1969-01 Standard Guide for Microcrystal Testing in the Forensic Analysis of... 

Microscopy was an established forensic tool by the 1890s. In toxicology, microscopy was being used to evaluate crystals characteristic of poisons, not unlike the way microcrystal tests in modern drug analysis are used. Microscopes were also employed in the analysis of fibers. To explore the principles of microscopy, the best place to begin is with the one instrument that symbolizes... 

Source Charles Fulton in Modern Microcrystal Tests for Drugs (New York Wiley-Interscience, 1976), p. 3. 

Standard Guide for Microcrystal Testing in the Forensic Analysis of Phencyclidine and Its Analogs," in ASTM Standard E Z125-C1,14.02, ASTM International, 2004. 

Swiatko, et al. "Further Studies on Spot Tests and Microcrystal Tests for Identification of Cocaine." Journal of Forensic Science 48 2003,581-585. 

Microcrystal tests Another term for crystal tests refers to the use of the microscope to study crystal form. 

A Figure 10 An example of a microcrystal test for drugs here produced by cocaine and gold chloride in an agar matrix. The image was taken under polarized light and interference colors are visible in the blades. This photo courtesy of Rebecca Hanes, WVU Department of Chemistry. 

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