The colour change, resulting from the Trinder reaction, is immediate, enabling rapid bedside assessment.
[1] It can be prepared by combining 40 g of mercuric chloride and 40 g of ferric nitrate in 850 ml of type II deionized water, and then adding 10 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid to the solution and diluting to a volume of 1 litre with more type II deionized water.
[1] False positive concentrations (2.8 to 14.3 mg per decilitre) have been reported to occur in neonates with hyperbilirubinemia, premature neonates, and children who are seriously ill (e.g. children who have extensive burns).
[3] The reaction between iron(III) and pharmaceuticals was first adapted for clinical use by P. Trinder (after whom the test, reaction, and reagent are now named), of the Biochemistry Department of the Royal Infirmary in Sunderland, in 1954 (see the article listed in further reading).
The Trinder reaction has been used for the determination of the presence of oxytetracycline in 1991, of ciprofloxacin in 1992, and of norfloxacin in 1993, in each case using a solution of iron(III) in sulphuric acid.