Stella Mireles asks: >>Reagent Alcohol or Denatured Alcohol? What is the difference between the two? Thinking about switching to denatured because of cost costing. Which do you prefer?<<
Reagent alcohol is a commonly used term for ethanol (ethyl alcohol) to which 5% methanol and 5% isopropanol have been added to keep people from drinking it. This mixture is widely used in histology. Denatured alcohol is ethanol that has been made undrinkable by adding various substances that are prescribed by the authorities using standard formulas. (Reagent alcohol is "S3DA modified".) Most of these mixtures are unsuitable for histologic use. Ethanol denatured with methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) is occasionally offered and can be used histologically, but it smells so bad that most people won't use it. Ethanol denatured with acetone is not suitable, because the acetone dissolves the eosin from your sections. Bob Richmond Samurai Pathologist Maryville TN _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
