Replacement of Xylene by Leica ST Ultra and Leica CV Ultra
Leica ST Ultra and Leica CV Ultra have been developed to replace Xylene/Toluene and conventional mounting
media in histopathology/Cytopathology laboratories.
Leica ST Ultra is used for clearing; Leica CV Ultra is used for coverslipping (mouting)
Leica ST Ultra and Leica CV Ultra both are:
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Leica ST Ultra
Leica CV Ultra
- Non flammable
- Odourless
- No detectable aromatics
- Non carcinogenic
- Non poisonous
- Environmentally and human friendly
There are two typical processes in a histo/cytopathology laboratory:
- Tissue Processing
- Deparaffination, Staining and Coverslipping
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Leica ST Ultra
Leica CV Ultra
Change to Leica ST Ultra in Tissue Processing
The general procedure for tissue processing is documented
below, although slight variations exist from one laboratory to
another.
Sequence Time in minutes Temperature °C
Formaldehyde 10 % v/v 30 40
Formaldehyde 10 % v/v 60 40
Ethanol 50 % 30 40
Ethanol 70 % 30 40
Ethanol 100 % 30 40
Ethanol 100 % 60 40
Ethanol 100 % 60 40
Ethanol 100 %* 120 40
Xylene 40 40
Xylene 80 ** 40
Paraffin 60 60
Paraffin 60 60
Paraffin 60 60
Paraffin 120 60
If Xylene is replaced by Leica ST Ultra it is important to note the following:
* More frequent refreshment of 100% Ethanol for tissue dehydration might be
necessary since xylene is partially miscible with water. Leica ST Ultra is not.
** Time of clearing should be increased by 30 minutes. Xylene penetration of
tissue is faster than penetration with Leica ST Ultra.
Performance advantage of Leica ST Ultra
Leica ST Ultra hardens fragile tissue material to a lesser
degree than Xylene (e.g. lymph nodes and testes).