A high-performance xylene-free tissue-clearing agent for routine histology: Preliminary histomorphological results

In histology, diaphanisation is the chemical process by which a tissue sample is modified by decolouring and dehydrating with xylene, benzene, chloroform, etc., so that it can be sufficiently opaque to let the light radiation of the microscope pass through the slide making it consequently visible to the operator. The most common clearing agents are those based on xylene. Xylene, a cyclic hydrocarbon produced from coal tar, is widely used as universal solvent. In fact, in histopathology, xylene gives translucency to tissues enhancing paraffin infiltration. It has been reported the highly toxicity and carcinogenic potential of this clearing agent [1]. Exposure to xylene can occur via inhalation, ingestion and eye or skin contact [2]. The type and intensity of the side effects on the health caused by xylene are determined by different parameters, such as the exposure mode and duration, as well as the individual respond to different levels of exposure [3]. Xylene can also cause neurological disorders such as headache, dizziness, confusion and affect muscle coordination [3]. To prevent and overcome those issues, alternative solutions to xylene-based clearing agents, less toxic for the operator, have been proposed. Various substances and chemicals have been employed as xylene alternatives, including limonene reagents, aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, vegetable and mineral substitutes, but the quality of the histological details has proven to be not so high yet [4]. In this study, we evaluated the histological performance of a xylene-free clearing agent, the Tissue-Tek® Tissue-Clear®, comparing it with another routine xylene-free one.

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