Why we use xylene

Continue reading to learn more about the uses of xylene and how it works. Xylenes are aromatic hydrocarbons with benzene ring components. These chemicals are colourless, sweet smelling, and are flammable with varying flammability thresholds, depending on the type of isomer.

We touched on it in our last blog post about this chemical, but as a recap xylene is not one chemical but rather a category of related chemicals: isomers, which means they all have the same chemical formula C 6 H 4 CH 3 2 but different molecular structures. Xylenes can either be used as a mixture or as separate substances. The three different isomers are o-Xylene, m-Xylene, and p-Xylene, and you can read more about them here.

French chemist Auguste Cahours was the first person who isolated and named xylene all the way back in , where he discovered it as a constituent of wood tar. However, it took several more decades before this new-found chemical had any practical application. Today, the industrial demand for xylene is high because of the equally high consumer demand for plastic products and polymer materials. In fact, according to recent research, the global demand for xylene will rise to approximately In natural conditions, xylene occurs in petroleum and coal tar.

Xylenes are also found in small amounts in crude oil, ranging from around 0. Some crude oil deposits have higher concentrations of xylenes, and even in refined petroleum products, like gasoline and kerosene, there are traces of xylenes. On an industrial scale, xylene compounds are produced through the process of catalytic reforming and also through the carbonisation during the manufacture of coke fuel.

There are more food items than you might think that contain traces of hydrocarbons, including xylenes. For example, fresh food like fruits and vegetables might be exposed to xylenes due to environmental contaminants in the soil, water or air. Some food items that have been found to contain trace amounts of xylenes and other aromatic hydrocarbons include:. One of the most important uses of xylene is in medicine, particularly in histology or the microscopic examination of tissues.

Here, it is used in the staining process of tissues for microscopy. In a nutshell, histopathologists can examine tissues for tell-tale signs of any disease. Xylene has an essential role to play in this process. Each section was evaluated, scored as 0 inadequate and 1 adequate by two independent pathologists who were blinded to agent used.

Following criteria were considered: nuclear staining, cytoplasmic staining, clarity, crispness, and uniformity. Statistical analysis was done using the SPSS software by applying chi-square test. About 1. Xylene: An overview of its health hazards and preventive measures. J Oral Maxillofac Pathol ; Histology without xylene. Ann Diagn Pathol ; Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia; c Efficacy of 1. Scientifica Cairo ; Liquid dish washing soap: An excellent substitute for xylene and alcohol in hematoxylin and eosin staining procedure.

J Orofac Sci ; A study to evaluate the efficacy of xylene-free hematoxylin and eosin staining procedure as compared to the conventional hematoxylin and eosin staining: An experimental study. Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 3. Figure 4. Discussion We investigated the efficacy of an alternative to xylene as a safer clearing agent.

Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest. Acknowledgment We would like to thank all staff in Pathology Department at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, for their cooperation and help in providing the specimens. References 1. Conventional xylene and xylene-free methods for routine histopathological preparation of tissue sections. Biotech Histochem. A comparative study to evaluate liquid dish washing soap as an alternative to xylene and alcohol in deparaffinization and hematoxylin and eosin staining.

Bleached palm oil as substitute for xylene in histology. J Pharm Clin Res. Rajan ST, Malathi N. Health hazards of xylene: A literature review. J Clin Diagn Res. Comparing the efficacy of coconut oil and xylene as a clearing agent in the histopathology laboratory.

J Oral Maxillofac Pathol. Bancroft JD, Gamble M. Theory and Practice of Histological Techniques. Comparison of honey with ethanol as an oral cytological fixative: A pilot study. J Cytol. Buesa RJ. Mineral oil: The best xylene substitute for tissue processing yet?

J Histotechnol. Anovel non-toxic xylene substitute SBO for histology. The effect of the alternative solutions to formaldehyde and xylene on tissue processing. Indian J Pathol Microbiol. Replacing xylene with n-heptane for paraffin embedding. Bio-friendly alternatives for xylene — Carrot oil, olive oil, pine oil, rose oil. Vegetable oils as clearing agents. Achieve Life Sci. Support Center Support Center.