Ethacridine

 

                                                                     

      Acridine 

Acridine orange is a widely used fluorescent dye for staining cells and visualizing nucleic acids. It can differentiate between double-stranded DNA (green fluorescence) and single-stranded DNA or RNA (red fluorescence)

                                                     Acridine To Ethacridine 

                                                       Ethacridine (Rivanol)

Early 20th Century Origins: Ethacridine, also known as ethacridine lactate or rivanol, is a synthetic acridine derivative that was developed in the early 1900s. Acridine dyes were being explored for both their antibacterial properties and use in histology.

Discovered by German chemists during the search for new antiseptics. It was introduced into medicine primarily by German pharmaceutical companies, including Bayer, around the 1910s–1920s.

• Ethacridine is a quaternary ammonium compound derived from acridine, giving it both antimicrobial and dye-like properties.

• Its lactate salt form is more water-soluble and widely used in clinical settings.

  Medical Uses:

                                                                        Rivanol

                                                               Dye As An Antiseptic 

• Antiseptic Agent: Ethacridine was extensively used as a topical antiseptic during the early and mid-20th century, especially for wound irrigation and mucous membrane disinfection.

Theory To Practice 

    Dye As An Abortifacient 

                                    Ethacridine: Abortifacient 

     

                                  Pharmacological  Abortions 

It is also remembered for its role in the evolution of pharmacological abortion methods before the widespread use of mifepristone and misoprostol.

• Obstetrics and Gynecology: In the 1950s–1970s, it gained importance in Eastern Europe and Asia as a second-trimester abortifacient, where it was instilled into the uterus to induce abortion safely with fewer systemic effects.

Snapshot