[Histonet] Re: Xylene Substitute

[Aprill Watanabe]

I also work in research and routinely do H&E's and lots of IHC.  I tried
Biocare's Slide Brite and found it difficult to use as it requires a
specific mounting media.  It was also a little greasy to the touch.  I then
tried StatLab's XS-3.  This one I found was severely subject to water in the
reagent.  If the slides were not cleared well it left water on the slide.
Again you have to have the right mounting media which they sell as well.  I
found this substitute to bleed out some of my IHC DAB staining.  It also
took at least a day to a day and half to dry.  My last one and the one I'm
currently using is Pro-Par from Anatech.  It also requires their mounting
media but the reagents are at a fair price.  I do not do any processing so I
have tested any of these on a processor but they all worked for H&E and IHC
aspects.  The Pro-oar I have found is the closest to Xylene that I have
tested.  It's not limonene based so it's not greasy at all and it dries in a
matter of hours not days.  Again clearing well in alcohol is critical.  I
would recommend this one to anyone looking for an alternative.  They also
sell a dehydrant.  This is just my two cents.



Aprill Watanabe, B.S.
Research Associate
Tissue Microarray Center (TMA)
Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen)
602-343-8822
awatanabe <@t> tgen.org
www.tgen.org