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60983

Kovac′s reagent for indoles

Name: Kovac′s reagent for indoles
Brand: SIAL

suitable for microbiology

Synonym(s):

4-(Dimethylamino)benzaldehyde solution, Indole reagent according to Kovac

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About This Item

Empirical Formula (Hill Notation):

C₉H₁₁NO

CAS Number:

100-10-7

Molecular Weight:

149.19

UNSPSC Code:

41171621

NACRES:

NA.85

PubChem Substance ID:

329759335

MDL number:

MFCD00003381

Beilstein/REAXYS Number:

4132845

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Properties

shelf life

limited shelf life, expiry date on the label

Quality Level

100

composition

n-butanol , 4-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde , hydrochloric acid

technique(s)

microbe id | specific enzyme detection: suitable

refractive index

n20/D 1.400-1.420

application(s)

agriculture
clinical testing
environmental
food and beverages, microbiology

storage temp.

2-8°C

suitability

Escherichia coli, coliforms

SMILES string

[H]C(=O)c1ccc(cc1)N(C)C

InChI

1S/C9H11NO/c1-10(2)9-5-3-8(7-11)4-6-9/h3-7H,1-2H3

InChI key

BGNGWHSBYQYVRX-UHFFFAOYSA-N

Description

General description

Kovac′s reagent for indoles is a solution of 4-(dimethylamino)benzaldehyde and hydrochloric acid in n-butanol.

Application

Kovac′s reagent for indoles has been used for enumerating E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef samples in different scenarios of stored, thawed, and as cooked patty samples. It has also been used for E coli enumeration in dewatered blackwater.

Biochem/physiol Actions

Kovac′s reagent detects the indole and aids in identifying the indole-positive and indole-negative microorganisms. E. coli can split tryptophan into indole and α-aminopropionic acid in the presence of the enzyme tryptophanase. p-Aminobenzaldehyde present in the reagent reacts with indole to form a cherry-red complex, that is soluble in alcohol, ether, and chloroform. It is recommended to use glucose free media and peptone with a high tryptophan content for the test.