XYLENE SUBSTITUTE, 5000 mL

PRINCIPLE

Xylene substitute is an H isoparaffinic solvent that can be used for the same applications as xylene for tissue processing in histological and cytological specimens. The processing of samples of human origin consists of several stages: fixation, dehydration, clarification and embedding in paraffin. All of these stages are sequential and aim to preserve tissue and remove all water from the tissue. The samples are fixed with one of the available tissue fixatives. Next, they are carefully dehydrated with dehydrating agents of different grades, going from the dehydrating agent with the lowest grade to the absolute one. After dehydration, the tissue is treated with an alcohol- and paraffin-soluble intermediate, xylene or xylene substitute. This step guarantees that the tissue will be completely impregnated with paraffin, forming blocks that will later be cut with the microtome and used for staining.