Patent ID: 8652803

Claim:
A method of removing paraffin-based embedding medium from a paraffin-embedded biological tissue sample deposited on a microscope slide comprising: contacting the paraffin-embedded biological sample with an exchanging composition, wherein the exchanging composition consists essentially of a surfactant dissolved in a non-polar organic solvent thereby forming a microemulsion; and removing the microemulsion from the slide, wherein the surfactant has the following structural formula: R 1 —X—(CH 2 CH 2 O) n —R 2 , wherein R 1 is selected from the group consisting of a hydrocarbon from about C4 to about C20, a polypropylene oxide, a polysiloxane, and a fluoroalkane; R 2 is selected from the group consisting of a hydrocarbon from about C1 to C20, an alkyl carboxylic acid, an alkyl sulfonate, an alkyl amine, an alkyl amine oxide, an alkyl quaternary amine, a polypropylene oxide, a polysiloxane, a fluoroalkane and a hydrogen; X is a linking group comprising an ether, ester, carbonate, benzyl, or sorbitol; and n is from about 5 to about 30.