[1] It is a non-fluorescent, relatively thermostable lysochrome (fat-soluble dye) diazo dye used for staining of neutral triglycerides and lipids on frozen sections and some lipoproteins on paraffin sections.

It has the appearance of a dark brown to black powder with maximum absorption at 596–605 nm and melting point 120–124 °C.

However the dye resulting from the above reaction product actually contains many, up to 42 colored and colorless by-products that can be fractionated.

The two major products were blue in color confirmed by various chromatographic (TLC and column etc.)

separation and spectroscopic (IR, NMR, Mass) identification were named SBB-I & SBB-II (Rf values of 0.49 and 0.19 (chloroform/benzene 1:1, SiO2) in thin Layer Chromatography).