As a legal definition, under the Chemical Substances Control Law (CSCL), reagents are defined as "chemical substances used for the detection or quantification of substances by chemical methods, experiments for the synthesis of substances, or the measurement of physical properties." Based on this definition, reagents are handled separately from other general chemical substances.
On the other hand, apart from the legal definition, the general concept of a reagent requires distinct quality standards and supply formats compared to industrial chemicals, particularly in terms of purity and volume. In this broader sense, reagents can be described as "chemical agents used for measurement standards, detection/confirmation, quantification, separation/purification, synthetic experiments, and physical property measurements in testing and research contexts. They must have guaranteed quality according to their intended use and be supplied in formats suitable for small-scale use." This further clarifies the distinction from industrial chemicals. While clinical diagnostic reagents used in hospitals and medical fields fall under this category, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare classifies them as "In Vitro Diagnostics (IVDs)" and handles them administratively separate from general reagents.
In English, reagents are expressed using terms such as Analytical Reagents, Reagent Chemicals, and Laboratory Chemicals. They are often labeled with notes such as "not for drug use" to clearly distinguish them from pharmaceuticals.
In addition to standard reagents, reference materials, volumetric solutions, and standard solutions used for volumetric and instrumental analysis are also considered reagents.
Reference Material:
Reagent Guidebook, 4th Revised Edition
Supervised by: IAJapan, National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE)
Edited by: Japan Reagent Association
Published by: The Chemical Daily Co., Ltd.
- For more details regarding this content, please refer to the "Reagent Guidebook, Revised 4th Edition."
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Etymology of "Shiyaku" (Reagent)
The first person in Japan to use the term "shiyaku" (reagent) was Yoan Udagawa (1798–1846). In 1832, he titled one of his manuscripts "Seimi Shiyaku-hen" (Chemistry Reagents Edition), in which he detailed the manufacturing methods for approximately 50 types of reagents.
In his subsequent work, "Seimi Kaiso" (Principles of Chemistry, 1837–43), he listed a significant number of reagents in the chapters on reagents and their usage guidelines, providing detailed instructions and precautions.
Interestingly, the word "shiyaku" was accompanied by the phonetic reading "reagentia," derived from the Dutch word for reagents, though it is unclear whether this was intended to indicate the pronunciation or its etymological origin.
It was not until much later, in 1942, that the term "reagent" (shiyaku) came into official use. Previously, various names such as "analytical chemicals" or "testing drugs" were used. However, at the request of the Ministry of Munitions at the time, the term was standardized to "reagent" to clearly distinguish them from general industrial chemicals. Since then, the name has become firmly established in Japan.
The aforementioned "Seimi Kaiso" was a Japanese translation of a Dutch version of a chemistry book by the British chemist William Henry. Notably, the reagent testing methods described in it are based on the same principles as the "detection methods for chlorides and sulfates" still used in today’s Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) for reagents. Thus, the history of reagents in Japan spans over 100 years, leading to the present day.
