BCIP is a white to off-white powder that is used as a substrate for visualization of alkaline phosphatase. The end product is insoluble and purple when used with nitroblue tetrazolium. This final product can be visually detected. BCIP is DMF soluble.

Blue Tetrazolium chloride is a chemical compound used for sensitive detection of alkaline phosphatase. With immunohistochemistry blue tetrazolium is used as a diagnostic for diseases of the phagocyte function by gauging the resulting blue color in the presence of oxygen formed by the phagocyte while killing bacteria.

Yellow crystalline powder that is used for the colorimetric determination of thiol groups in biological samples. DTNB is fairly soluble in water.

Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) is the most commonly used antibody-conjugated enzyme. Substrates for HRP are luminol and benzidine substrates. Tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) and similar substrates are oxidized by HRP in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, or nontoxic substitutes, to yield a chinoid structure of intense blue color.

Nonfluorescent resazurin, which is reduced by viable cells to red-fluorescent resorufin, can be used to detect the metabolic activity of many cell types from bacteria to higher eukaryotes and is a sensitive fluorogenic substrate for fluorometric and UV-spectrophotometric assays of phosphatases. Resazurin is used in the Resazurin Microtiter Assay for rapid detection of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis, in cell viability tests, and to assay mitochondrial functions in vitro.