[Histonet] Changing from HemoDe to VWR Xylene Substitute?

[Bob Richmond]

Michelle (Shelly) Aono (at Auburn in Alabama) asks: >>Does anyone have any
experience changing from HemoDe to VWR Xylene Substitute? Did you have to
extend your processing times? By how much?

When people talk to good "recycling" of the clearing agent, does that mean
re-use?  As in how often you need to discard/refill the reservoirs in the
processor?
I currently coverslip with Eukitt mounting medium, is this compatible?

Anything other advice you can offer or things you have discovered during
your switch?<<

HemoDe is a limonene clearing agent. I think these are rapidly going out of
use. VWR Xylene Substitute is one of a large number of "aliphatic" clearing
agents. These are synthetic hydrocarbons, similar to the petroleum cut
called naphtha. They are odorless (at least to my insensitive nose), and
much less toxic than xylene. They do not all have the same composition,
with a wide range of flash points.

They are readily recycled, but each one has its own distillation routine
(or did with the older generation of recyclers, anyway), so that if you are
to recycle, you can't easily change brands, something you need to check
with whoever it is in your outfit decides who your vendors are.

Bob Richmond
Samurai Pathologist
Maryville TN