On Fri, 30 Mar 2001, Dr. Ian Montgomery. wrote:

> Using acetone at -80C you are freeze substituting the tissue. 
> Depending on size of tissue sample this can take many days - remember, 
> small is beautiful. If possible use a rotator in the freezer or frequently 
> agitate the tissue. Warm up slowly and evenly, probably over a day. Do not 
> use any solvents with water, your tissue is dehydrated so why hydrate 
> again. Methyl benzoate, mmmmm, wonder why, it is a clearing agent, not my 
> first choice, but can be used to make tissue less brittle. Xylene is used 
> here as a linking agent between methyl benzoate and wax.

I think Ian says it all here. The one thing against methyl
benzoate is its smell. Methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen)
is much nicer. The only advantage of methyl benzoate that I know 
is that it has a higher refractive index than any other clearing
agent, but this isn't an issue unless you want transparent
whole-mounts.
----------------------------------------
John A. Kiernan
Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology
The University of Western Ontario
London,  Canada   N6A 5C1
   kiernan@uwo.ca
   http://publish.uwo.ca/~jkiernan