[Histonet] Re: GI bx

[Mark Ray]

I have to agree with Bob.  E K Industries has been selling  Reagent 
Alcohol to clinical and research labs for quite a while.   Longer than I 
care to think about.  Never had a complaint and never heard anything 
like this.  A while back, someone on Histonet explained how the 
combination of the two denaturing agents  produced a mixture 
indistinguishable in its properties from absolute ethanol in histology 
applications.  I can't remember who or when.  Any other Reagent Alcohol 
users care to comment?

Mark Ray
E K Industries


RSRICHMOND <@t> aol.com wrote:

>In regard to alcohols:
>
>Do people have really strong evidence that denatured alcohol behaves any differently from pure ethanol?
>
>Absolute (100%) ethanol is a major security problem for the laboratory, since tax authorities (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms - Department of Justice - in the USA) want to make really sure that it isn't diverted for beverage use. Many hospitals just don't have the storage facilities.
>
>In common use is what's generically called "reagent alcohol", with 90% ethanol, 5% methanol, and 5% isopropanol. This is denaturation formula "S3DA modified", the "modified" referring to the fact that isopropanol is also added to the methanol-denatured S3DA mix. - Another denaturant permitted in histology is methylisobutylketone (MIBK), which smells so bad that most labs don't want to use it. (Alcohol denatured with acetone is also available - unacceptable because it removes eosin instantly.)
>
>This old pathologist hasn't seen any difference between pure ethanol and reagent alcohol. Is any of you sure that there is a difference?
>
>Bob Richmond
>Samurai Pathologist
>Knoxville TN and Gastonia NC
>
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