John
In reply to your query regarding making a DPX. We also made our own mounting
medium for many years, although at the current time we are purchasing
commercial DPX. Our recipe is as follows:
Polystyrene crystals (from Monsanto) 200 g
Xylene (we use sulphur free) 600 ml (more or less can be added to suit
personal runniness)
Di-n-butylphthalate 100 ml

The crystals are dissolved in xylene over a period of days (usually 3 to 4
days) with occassional stirring from a metal rod. When the crystals are
completely dissolved the di-n-butylphthalate is added and stirred in well.
The resulting medium is placed in air tight bottles, and dated, until needed
for use. The reason we are currently purchasing commercial DPX is that we
had problems with the last batch of crystals we purchased from Monsanto.
After several months the home made brew re-crystallised under coverslips and
created a few problems when slides were required for review or teaching. We
haven't yet returned to making our own since a complete cost comparison of
commercial versus our own brand was only slightly in favour of the home
brew.
Regards

Roy Ellis
IMVS Division of Pathology
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Woodville Road
Woodville, South Australia 5011
mailto:roy.ellis@imvs.sa.gov.au
Web:http://home.primus.com.au/royellis