ABSTRACT
The synthesis of ninhydrin (originally described as 1,2,3-triketohydrindene, but also referred to as 1,2,3-indanetrione) was €rst reported by Professor Siegfried Ruhemann, of the University Chemical Laboratories at Cambridge University, England, in 1910 [1]. He had attempted to synthesize 1,2-indanedione by reacting 1-indanone with p-nitrosodimethylaniline (and then hydrolyzing the subsequently formed imine to the desired product), but instead formed the now famous triketone [2]. Of particular interest to forensic scientists was Ruhemann’s choice to react this new compound with ammonia.
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