Case story database

Search for Successfully Implemented Alternatives

You can use the free text search function to find information in the case story database. Most suitable are: substance name and other substance identifier (EC- and CAS-number). You can refine your search after first entry for sector-, function- and process-categories. The case studies are meant to serve as source of inspiration and ideas for substitution. The alternatives are constantly being developed further. We therefore recommend that you to check in each individual case whether an alternative is suitable for your applications and purposes. If you are aware of any other relevant information that is not mentioned in the current case story, please contact SUBSPORTplus.

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Alternatives to Chromic Acid Cleaners in Laboratories

Chromic acid is widely used in many laboratories for cleaning glassware. Because of the hazards for health and environment some alternatives have been developed as commercial products, but also as laboratory-made substitutes.

Substitution of Chloroform with 1-Bromo-3-chloropropane in RNA-isolation.

Chloroform is commonly used in a method to isolate RNA from DNA and proteins. Since chloroform is a neurotoxicant, an endocrine disruptor and possibly also a carcinogen, substitution of the substance is advantageous from a workers' safety perspective. It was found that 1-Bromo-3-chloropropane (BCP) could work as a fully functional substitute for chloroform without any changes in the experimental process.

Substitution of gasoline with a combination of ethanol based all-purpose cleaner and window cleaner for cleaning of medical equipment.

Gasoline is used to clean medical equipment in hospital and laboratories. It was discovered that gasoline can readily be substituted with an ethanol based all-purpose cleaner. For hospital and laboratory glassware, a window cleaner should also be used for best results.

Alternative to formaldehyde in fluid preservation of biological specimens.

22 alternatives were assessed as alternatives to formaldehyde in preserving biological specimens. DMDM-hydantoin was regarded as a suitable alternative. DMDM-hydantoin is also used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.

70% ethanol as an alternative to formalin in tissue fixation

70% ethanol fixation and paraffin embedding is a useful alternative method for molecular profiling studies. This was shown during a systematic approach of processing clinical tissue specimen (prostate and kidney) through non-formalin fixation method.

Substitution of immersion oil containing dibutyl phthalate and chlorinated paraffin with an oil containing benzyl benzoate.

An immersion oil, used in microscopy containing dibutyl phthalate and chlorinated paraffin was substituted with another immersion oil containing only benzyl benzoate at the Uppsala county council. The substitution resulted in safer working environment for the staff.

Alternative to lead acetate in sugar cane and sugar beet analyses

Lead acetate can be replaced by aluminium sulphate in analysing sugar cane and sugar beet. Using alternative analytical methods that do not involve lead acetate is also possible.

Alternative to formaldehyde as preservative in water samples

A well-known preservative, formaldehyde, is also a carcinogen and a sensitiser. Its use for preserving macroinvertebrates in fresh water samples can be substituted by freezing parts of the samples and using ethanol for the other parts.

Use of methylene blue as staining agent to reveal DNA

Methylene blue may be used as an alternative to ethidium bromide, a suspected mutagen, in staining agarose gel to reveal DNA.

Substitution of sulfochromatic mixtures

This document proposes and analyses different alternatives to sulfochromatic mixtures (chrome VI) in the cleaning of laboratory instruments. The full text is only available in French.

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