Brilliant Blue FCF (Blue 1), also known under commercial names, is a colorant for foods and other substances. It is denoted by E number E133 and has a color index of 42090. It has the appearance of a reddish-blue powder. It is soluble in water, and the solution has a maximum absorption at about 628 nanometers.

Chemistry

It is a synthetic dye produced using aromatic hydrocarbons from petroleum. It can be combined with tartrazine (E102) to produce various shades of green.

It is usually a disodium salt. The diammonium salt has CAS number 3844-45-9. Calcium and potassium salts are also permitted. It can also appear as an aluminium lake. The chemical formation is C₃₇H₃₄N₂Na₂O₉S₃. The dye is poorly absorbed from the gastro-intestinal tract and 95% of the ingested dye can be found in the feces.

Applications

As a blue color, Brilliant Blue FCF is often found in ice cream, canned processed peas, packet soups, bottled food colorings, icings, ice pops, blue raspberry flavored products, dairy products, sweets and drinks, especially the liqueur blue curaçao. It is also used in soaps, shampoos, mouthwash and other hygiene and cosmetics applications. In soil science, Brilliant Blue is applied in tracing studies to visualize infiltration and water distribution in the soil.

Coomassie Brilliant Blue is the name of two similar triphenylmethane dyes that were developed for use in the textile industry but are now commonly used for staining proteins in analytical biochemistry. Coomassie Brilliant Blue G-250 differs from Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250 by the addition of two methyl groups. The name "Coomassie" is a registered trademark of Imperial Chemical Industries.

Name and discovery

The name Coomassie was adopted at the end of the 19th century as a trade name by the Blackley based dye manufacturer Levinstein Ltd, in marketing a range of acid wool dyes. In 1896 during the Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War, British forces had occupied the town of Coomassie (modern-day Kumasi in Ghana). In 1918 Levinstein Ltd became part of British Dyestuffs which in 1926 became part of Imperial Chemical Industries. Although ICI still owns the Coomassie trademark, the company no longer manufactures the dyes.

The blue disulfonated triphenylmethane dyes were first produced in 1913 by Max Weiler who was based in Elberfeld, Germany. Various patents were subsequently taken out on the organic synthesis.

Brilliant Blue (ブリリアント☆BLUE, Buririanto Blue) is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Saemi Yorita. It is licensed in North America by Digital Manga Publishing, which released the first volume of the manga through its DokiDoki imprint, on 6 May 2009. The second volume was released on 19 August 2009. Orita considers Nanami to be a "stupid bottom" character.

Reception

Michelle Smith, writing for PopCultureShock, found the first volume "utterly charming" - appreciating Shouzo not abusing the "imbalance of power" in his relationship with the "child-like" Nanami, and for encouraging Nanami to become more adult while still respecting his talents. Leroy Douresseaux, writing for Comic Book Bin, feels that Brilliant Blue is a "compelling drama" and "also an interesting workplace romance", because Shouzo and Nanami connect over workplace issues.

Michelle Smith, writing for PopCultureShock, found Shouzo's unexplained escalation of the relationship dissatisfying, Smith also found his impatience to make the relationship a sexual relationship "off-putting" and out of character, given Shouzo's patience in the first volume. In an epilogue six months later, the couple are out, but Smith feels the prejudices against them were glossed over in the end. Leroy Douressaux, writing for Comic Book Bin, felt that the storytelling became "awkward" once Shouzo and Nanami began their romantic relationship, but when the author pulled away from the couple to show more of their surroundings, the storytelling became better. Douressaux found the "small town" feel of Brilliant Blue to be refreshing, as he felt the story was "as much about small town commitments and friendships as it is about romance".