AbstractThe disturbance of metachromasia of a dye/polyanion system by cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPCl) has been estimated quantitatively from the difference of the amounts of dye left in the aqueous layer after carbon tetrachloride extraction of the metachromatic solution in the presence and absence of CPCl, as well as from conductometric titration of the dye/polyanion solution with CPCl. Results show that CPCl, unlike sodium chloride, displaces the dye ions from the polyanions almost stoichiometrically. This special behaviour of CPCl has been assigned to its tendency to form hydrophobic bonds. As dyes methylene blue and crystal violet, as polyanions chondroitin sulfate and heparin have been used.