Euparal is a synthetic

microscopy Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of micr ...

mountant originally formulated in 1904 by Professor G. Gilson, the professor of

Zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

at Louvain University,

Louvain Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. It has been manufactured by several companies, but is now exclusively manufactured by ASCO Laboratories, Manchester, England. Euparal is used extensively in the mounting of entomological and histological specimens, and has gained much favour as a microscopy mountant due to its low

refractive index In optics, the refractive index (or refraction index) of an optical medium is a dimensionless number that gives the indication of the light bending ability of that medium. The refractive index determines how much the path of light is bent, or ...

of 1.483. Microscopic objects, such as cells, are stained with carmine or other stains and slides are passed through dehydration grades and finally mounted in a drop of Euparal. Euparal is a mixture of camsal (itself a mixture of

camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel ('' Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the k ...

and

salol Phenyl salicylate, or salol, is the organic compound with the formula C6H5O2C6H4OH. It is a white solid. It is occasionally used in sunscreens and as an antiseptic. Production and reactions The title compound was synthesized first in 1883 by th ...

sandarac Sandarac (or sandarach) is a resin obtained from the small cypress-like tree '' Tetraclinis articulata''. The tree is native to the northwest of Africa with a notable presence in the Southern Morocco part of the Atlas mountains. The resin exudes ...

eucalyptol Eucalyptol is a monoterpenoid. A colorless liquid, it is a bicyclic ether. Eucalyptol has a fresh mint-like smell and a spicy, cooling taste. It is insoluble in water, but miscible with organic solvents. Eucalyptol makes up ~70% - 90% of eucaly ...

, and

paraldehyde Paraldehyde is the cyclic trimer of acetaldehyde molecules. Formally, it is a derivative of 1,3,5-trioxane, with a methyl group substituted for a hydrogen atom at each carbon. The corresponding tetramer is metaldehyde. A colourless liquid, it ...

and has a lower refractive index than Canada balsam.

References

Microscopy mountants Entomology equipment {{pathology-stub