My research project is centralized on testing pine oil as a biofriendly alternative to Xylene: a chemical solvent with carcinogenic properties that is used in histological staining procedures. To give some background information, Xylene is used as a clearing agent to clarify tissue samples that were embedded in paraffin wax. These deparaffinization steps are done after the wax-embedded tissue sample has been cut using a microtome for tissue sectioning. This allows me to obtain extremely thin tissue samples. After a successful experiment of replacing Xylene with pine oil in the deparaffinization steps for a Hematoxylin & Eosin staining (H&E), I’m now focused on applying pine oil as the Xylene replacement for a Masson’s Trichrome stain. Pine oil is also more cost effective than xylene since its a chemical that must be manufactured. H&E stains focus on distinguishing cellular structures in a tissue sample while Masson’s Trichrome highlights collagen and muscle fibers in tissue samples. The H&E experiment was done by previous students under my PhD mentor, Dr. Visbal. My research will be to continuing this experimental progress when I can test pine oil as a Xylene replacement during a Masson’s Trichrome stain. I am continuing to learn valuable histological techniques such as utilizing the microtome, preparing tissue samples, histological staining, and proper use of the microscope to explore cellular structures and quality of stains. Being a Hispanic woman in STEM and working with another Hispanic woman in the field is an opportunity that I am appreciative to have as it inspired to obtain my PhD and pursue becoming a scientific researcher.
HETS
Hispanic Educational Technology Services