D&C Red No. 6 is an excipient (pharmacologically inactive substance). It is FDA-approved, high-purity pigment. It can be tinted with titanium dioxide to create light red/pink shades. The color additive D&C Red No. 6 is principally the disodium salt of 3-hydroxy-4-[(4-methyl-2-sulfophenyl)azo]-2-naphthalenecarboxylic acid. To manufacture the additive, 2-amino-5-methylbenzenesulfonic acid is diazotized with hydrochloric acid and sodium nitrite. The diazo compound is coupled in alkaline medium with 3-hydroxy-2-naphthalenecarboxylic acid. The resulting dye precipitates as the disodium salt. D&C Red No. 6 is used in decorative cosmetic products including lipsticks, nail lacquers & face makeup (in USA prohibited for eye makeup), personal care products, soaps.

Erythrosine B (also known as Red No. 3), a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved red food dye, is found in cosmetics and food. It is also used as a plasma stain for nerve cells and staining bacteria in soil. It was studied the modulating capabilities of erythrosine B on amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ) aggregation and Aβ-associated impaired neuronal cell function. It is known, that aggregation Aβ is closely linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease pathology.

D&C RED NO. 7 is an inactive component of CONZIP®, which is an opioid agonist indicated for the management of pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate.

Sulfobromophthalein (BSP) is a dye with a high affinity for organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATPs) and has been used as a substrate for multidrug resistance associated protein 2 (Mrp2). BSP is transported into hepatocytes by OATPs and, after conjugation to glutathione, is excreted into bile by Mrp2.3 It was found to inhibit the aldo-keto reductase ARK1C20. Sulfobromophthalein (BSP) is used in diagnosis of hepatic disorders.It is also used for the quantitative determination of proteins.

Alizarin is an anthraquinone is an organic compound that has been used as a red dye, principally for dyeing textile fabrics since ancient times. Historically it was derived from the roots of the madder plant Rubia tinctorum, in which it occurs combined with the sugars xylose and glucose. Laboratory methods of preparing alizarin from anthraquinone were discovered in 1868, and, upon commercial introduction of the synthetic dye in 1871, the natural product disappeared from the market for textile dyes. At present alizarin is commonly used in biomedical studies involving bone growth, osteoporosis, bone marrow, calcium deposits in the vascular system, cellular signaling, gene expression, tissue engineering, and mesenchymal stem cells. Alizarin precipitates free calcium, and tissue block containing calcium stain red immediately when immersed in alizarin. It is approved by FDA as a Calcium test system for clinical chemistry. Alizarin red, has been used for a quantitative sweat measure to characterize the sweat distribution in patients with syncope, anxiety, and POTS.

Oftasceine is a fluorescent dye or luminescent agent. It was recommended for the use as an effective agent for the blood-retinal barrier integrity studies. It was used to detect drug interactions with multidrug resistance proteins because it is an effective substrate of the multidrug resistance transporter 1P-glycoprotein and the multidrug resistance-related protein. The Oftasceine assay can be used as a quantitative, standardized, inexpensive screening test in a routine clinical laboratory setting. The assay detects both P-glycoprotein and multidrug resistance-associated protein activities, and identifies acute myeloid leukaemia patients with unfavorable therapy responses. It is used in ophthalmic solutions as a staining agent when fitting hydrogel contact lens. The use of a fluorexon dye-impregnated strip (pre-wetted with preservative-free saline) yielded comparable results with a fluorescein strip for assessments of tear film stability based on tear film break-up time.

Fuchsine (rosaniline hydrochloride) is a magenta dye. Basic fuchsine is a mixture of rosaniline, pararosaniline, new fuchsine and Magenta II. Carbol fuchsin is a mixture of phenol and basic fuchsin, used in bacterial staining procedures. It is commonly used in the staining of mycobacteria as it has an affinity for the mycolic acids found in their cell membranes. The World Health Organization recommendation of 0.3% carbol fuchsin in the ZN method for staining acid-fast bacilli (AFB).

Acriflavine (ACF) is a topical antiseptic. The hydrochloride form is more irritating than the neutral form. It is derived from acridine. Commercial preparations are often mixtures with proflavine. Acriflavine was developed in 1912 by Paul Ehrlich, a German medical researcher, and was used during the First World War against sleeping sickness. ACF has known trypanocidal, antibacterial, and antiviral activities. Effects of ACF on cancer cells were first reported 50 years ago. By present time was demonstrated that ACF a drug, that binds directly to HIF-1 alpha and HIF-2 alpha and inhibits HIF-1 dimerization and transcriptional activity and thus has potent inhibitory effects on tumor growth and vascularization. Also Acriflavine in combination with 3,6-diaminoacridine (proflavine) could prove to be a potential antimalarial drug and its pharmacological action can be due to inhibition of gyrase activity. This is achieved through interaction of the ACF with the DNA substrate. This interaction may lead to conformation change in DNA unsuitable for binding of gyrase with DNA.