Notes
1 This is a slightly modified version of an article published in The Colourist (Issue 1, 2014), the quarterly news magazine of the Society of Dyers & Colourists (SDC). GC, AF and RS are the Chief Executive Officer, the Technical Director and the President of the SDC, respectively, who recently visited many dyestuff- related sites in China. Footnotes have been added by the Editors of Biotechnic & Histochemistry.
2 This is probably the dye class most relevant to biomedical dye users and vendors. Of the 56 dyes certified by the Biological Stain Commission, 17 fall into this category.
3 The term “reactive blacks” is dyestuff/textile chemist shorthand that describes black dyes that attach to textiles by forming dye-fiber covalent bonds. Such dyes also have applications in biomedicine as ligands in dye affinity chromatography that are used to separate and purify proteins.
4 EURATEX is The European Apparel and Textile Confederation, which was established to promote competitiveness and sustainable growth of the textile and clothing industry in Europe.