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A simple on package indicator label for grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) ripeness has been developed based on chlorophenol red (CPR). The CPR was immobilized onto the filter paper via absorption method to make the CPR membrane. The membrane as a colorimetric label for grape ripeness works based on pH increase as the volatile organic acids decreased gradually in the package headspace due to the formation of sugars during berry ripening process. Subsequently, the color of the indicator label will change from white to beige then finally to yellow for over-ripe indication, which is easily detected by naked eye. The results show that the indicator label could be used to monitor the ripeness of grapes since the color changes of indicator label toward the ripeness of the grapes are in similar tendency and have a good linear correlation. Thus, the indicator label can be used as an effective tool for on-line ripeness monitoring of grapes packaging. Finally, the indicator label was successfully used as on-package indicator label for on-line ripeness monitoring of grapes in ambient and chilled conditions.

The article describes a simple and rapid method for colorimetric detection of bacteria. It is based on competitive binding of positively charged polyethyleneimine-coated gold nanoparticles (PEI-AuNPs) to negatively charged enzymes and bacteria. The PEI-AuNPs are electrostatically attracted by both the bacterial surface and the enzyme β-galactosidase (β-Gal). Binding to the latter results in the inhibition of enzyme activity. However, in the presence of a large number of bacteria, the PEI-AuNPs preferentially bind to bacteria. Hence, the enzyme will not be inhibited and its activity can be colorimetrically determined via hydrolysis of the chromogenic substrate chlorophenol red β-D-galactopyranoside (CPRG). The detection limit of this assay is as low as 10 cfu·mL−1, and the linear range extends from 106 to 108 cfu·mL−1. The assay is applicable to both Gram-negative (such as enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli; ETEC) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus; S. aureus) bacteria. Results are obtained within 10 min using an optical reader, and within 2–3 h by bare-eye detection. The method was applied to the identification of ETEC contamination at a level of 10 cfu·mL−1 in spiked drinking water. Given its low detection limit and rapidity (sample preconcentration is not required), this method holds great promise for on-site detection of total bacterial contamination.

A simple, accurate, and rapid extraction spectrophotometric procedure has been developed for the determination of some phenothiazine drugs such as chlorpromazine hydrochloride (CPH) and trifluoperazine dihydrochloride (TFPH) in pure form and their pharmaceutical preparations. The procedures are based on the reaction between the examined drugs (CPH and TFPH) and Alizarin Red S (AR), Bromocresol Purple (BCP), Chlorophenol Red (CPR) and Cresol Red (CR) producing ion-pair complexes which can be measured at the optimum wavelengths. The optimizations of the reaction conditions were investigated. Beer’s law is obeyed in the concentration ranges 1.77–96 μg ml −1 . The molar absorptivity and Sandell sensitivity are also calculated. The correlation coefficient for both drugs was ⩾0.9995 ( n = 5) with a relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) ⩽0.38. The methods are successfully applied to determine CPH and TFPH in pharmaceutical formulations.

A commercially-available sulfonphthalein derivative was demonstrated to be a chemodosimeter for Fe2+ and its sensing behavior was further investigated by UV-vis spectroscopy in aqueous media under the optimum conditions. In the presence of chlorophenol red (CPR) and H2O2, the absorption maximum at 435 nm decreased upon addition of Fe2+, resulting in a significant color change of the CPR solution from yellow to colorless. The chemosensor system did not show significant responses to a series of other metal ions including Al3+, Zn2+, Cd2+, Hg2+, Mn2+, Co2+, Fe3+, Ni2+, Cu2+, La3+, Ce4+, Th4+, Pd2+, Pb2+, Sb3+, Cr3+, Au3+, Ag+, Nd3+, Sm3+, alkali and alkaline earth metal cations, allowing for highly selective naked-eye detection of Fe2+. Quantitative analysis was carried out kinetically for practicable the Fe2+ assay when either fixed time method or the initial rate method was applied. When the detecting time was set, the decrease of absorbance signal was linear with Fe2+ concentration in the range of 0 to 7.50 × 10−5 mol L−1 and the regression equation was ΔA = 0.00759 + 0.00593C Fe with a correlation coefficient r = 0.9953. The chemodosimetric system has employed an irreversible Fenton reagent-promoted oxidation of the CPR free chromophore and the hydroxyl radicals were generated in the presence of both Fe2+ and hydrogen peroxide. The mechanistic interpretation of the signaling process was partially confirmed by the radical scavenging experiment and the FT-IR analysis of the intermediates formed at different reaction periods.

A solid-state, diffuse reflectance-based fiberoptic sensor is described for quantifying ammonia. This sensor is constructed by immobilizing chlorophenol red, a weak acid chromophoric indicator dye, in a microporous polypropylene membrane. A flow-injection analysis system is used to carry a 10-μL aliquot of the sample across the treated membrane. Ammonia in the sample diffuses through the air-filled pores within the membrane structure before reacting with the indicator dye. A reversible acid-base reaction between ammonia and chlorophenol red results in a measurable change in the reflectance at 560 nm. Response characteristics include a peak response within 20 s, a limit of detection of 0.2 ± 0.1 mM ammonia, and a dynamic range of up to 60 mM ammonia. The analytical utility of this sensor is demonstrated by measuring ammonia levels in 48 individual samples collected during the growth of PC3 human prostate cancer cells in a typical serum-containing growth medium. Accuracy of the proposed sensor is verified by a comparison of results from this sensor to those from a conventional enzyme assay.

We have developed a new pharmacological screening assay for epimastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi (clone CL-B5) that express the Escherichia coli LacZ gene. The assay is based on determining the activity of the cytoplasmic beta-galactosidase released into the culture on membrane lysis in the presence of the substrate chlorophenol red beta-D-galactopyranoside (CPRG). The experimental conditions were adjusted to find those in which the relationship between epimastigote number and CPRG absorbance was linear over the widest possible range. Absorbance was significantly correlated with the number epimastigote from 5x10(3) to 1.2x10(6) parasites/ml (r=0.98, P

The preparation and characterization of three different plastic thin-film colorimetric sensors for gaseous ammonia is described. In the film sensors, the neutral form of a pH-sensitive dye (Bromophenol Blue, Bromocresol Green or Chlorophenol Red) was encapsulated in a plastic medium, either poly(vinyl butyral) or ethylcellulose plasticized with tributyl phosphate. Each of these film optodes gave a reproducible and reversible response towards gaseous ammonia. The sensitivity of the film sensors towards ammonia was found to be strongly dependent upon the pK a of the encapsulated dye. Thus, the film with Chlorophenol Red (pK a = 6.25), proved to be very insensitive (operating range: 0.29% < %NH3 < 100%), whereas the film with Bromophenol Blue (pK a = 4.1), was much more sensitive (operating range: 0.0003% < %NH3 < 0.11%). The sensitivity of a plastic film sensor decreased markedly with increasing operating temperature and the 90% response (15–38 s) and recovery (820-127 s) times were slow and activation-controlled.

A rapid, efficient assay that is nondestructive and semiquantitative for identifying transgenic plants and progeny from Biolistic® and protoplast transformations is described. Leaf sections of maize and wheat plants are placed on an indicator medium containing chlorophenol red and the selection agent. Changes in the color of the medium from red to yellow resulting from altered pH indicate transformed plants within 2-5 d. The method is particularly suited to use with phosphinothricin and could be used with other suitable selectable markers.

Phosphinothricin (PPT) inhibits glutamine synthetase in plant cells, resulting in an accumulation of ammonia that can be toxic. Bar, from Streptomyces hygroscopicus is a gene that codes for phosphinothricin acetyl-transferase, an enzyme that detoxifies PPT by acetylation. We used polyethylene-glycol-mediated transformation to introduce bar into protoplasts of maize (Zea mays L.). With a novel assay utilizing the pH indicator chlorophenol red we identified transformants after only two to four weeks of selection on PPT.

The polarographic reduction of phenol red, chlorophenol red and bromophenol red has been investigated in buffered aqueous solutions and alcohol-water water mixtures over a widepH range (2–12). The results show that the three depolarizers are reduced through two irreversible one-electron waves of equal heights at allpH values. The two waves represent the reduction of the triphenylmethane carbon centre. The nature of the waves and the kinetics of the electrode reaction are discussed.