[Histonet] SAFE-CLEAR Xylene Substitute

Rene J Buesa

2008-12-31 21:15:02 UTC

Katelin:
Safe-Clear, as you probably have found in HistoNet archives, comes in 2 "versions": Safe-Clear that is nothing but Stoddard Solvent (or White Spirits also known as Mineral Spirits) and Safe Clear II that has naphthenic hydrocarbons added.
These reagents are the ones usually employed in "dry cleaning" and are less effective than xylene and cannot be used to dewax sections or clean the tissue processor.
I would ask the representative of Thermo Fisher Scientific about the time but I think that the clearing time should be increased to at least 45 minutes per station (instead of the 30 minutes you have now with xylene).
They cost between 1.72 (Safe-Clear) and 1.91 (Safe-Clear II) the price of wylene but being what they really are, that is overpricing. You could get the same product cheaper in any HomeDepot store.
Happy New Year
René J.

--- On Wed, 12/31/08, Katelin Lester <***@cuttingedgehistology.com> wrote:

From: Katelin Lester <***@cuttingedgehistology.com>
Subject: [Histonet] SAFE-CLEAR Xylene Substitute
To: ***@lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2008, 3:13 PM

Our pathologist has agreed to let us try out SAFE-CLEAR xylene substitute in
our VIP processor. We currently have 2 changes of xylene at 30 minutes each
and process mostly small surgical specimens.

Do I need to increase the time the tissue spends in the SAFE-CLEAR?

I have searched the Histonet Archives for answers about xylene substitutes,
and have mostly found what I am looking for, but am unclear on whether or
not I need to increase the time during processing.
Thank you all,

Katelin Lester

Cutting Edge Histology Services, LLC

(503) 443-2157