Malachite green colored cation. The oxalate salt is also marketed. The anions have no effect on the color. The intense green color of the cation results from a strong absorption band at 621 nm (extinction coefficient of ). Malachite green is prepared by the condensation of benzaldehyde and dimethylaniline to give leuco malachite green (LMG): Second, this colorless leuco compound, a relative of triphenylmethane, is oxidized to the cation that is MG: A typical oxidizing agent is manganese dioxide. Hydrolysis of MG gives an alcohol: This alcohol is important because it, not MG, traverses cell membranes. Once inside the cell, it is
The Malachite Box was presented to the author for his 60th birthday on 28 January 1939. Several test copies were published in January. A special deluxe edition, decorated with malachite, was sent to the 1939 New York World's Fair. The mass market edition published in autumn of the same year. The book was an instant success. It has been republished many times. Overall, twenty three editions of the stories were released from 1941 to 1945. The second edition of the collection was released by the Moscow publishing house Sovetsky Pisatel in 1942. The book was awarded the Stalin prize. The third edition of