Estimating the effect of etching agents on plastic sections

The effects on epoxy embedding media of certain etching procedures have been studied in two ways. Firstly the resin present in thick sections, before and after etching, was demonstrated by staining the plastic with Sudan Black B. Secondly the change in weight of plastic blocks after their exposure to etching procedures was measured. Methods involving halogens in acetone, alkoxides in ethanol or in methanol-benzene, and performic acid resulted in gross removal of plastic. Additionally, in keeping with the widespread belief that etching may increase permeability of plastic sections to stains, most of the etch methods studied, including organic solvents alone, did remove some plastic from the blocks.