Chloral Hydrate - Hoyer's Mounting Medium

Hoyer's Mounting Medium

Chloral hydrate is also an ingredient used for Hoyer's solution, a mounting medium for microscopic observation of diverse organisms such as bryophytes, ferns, seeds, and small arthropods (especially mites). One recipe for making Hoyer's is dissolving gum arabic (30.0 g) in water (50.0 mL), then adding chloral hydrate (200.0 g), and then finally adding glycerol (16.0 mL). An advantage of this medium include an excellent refraction index and clearing (macerating) properties of the small specimens (especially advantageous if specimens require observation with differential interference contrast microscopy). The major disadvantage of Hoyer's is its susceptibility to the effects of rehydration, which causes the mountant to crystallize and threatening the slide to become unusable. It is therefore absolutely necessary, after drying a mounted specimen, to thoroughly ring (2 layers are best) cover slips with a protective coating (e.g., insulating Glyptol), which prevents rehydration and mountant deterioration. Chloral hydrate reportedly does not effectively clear larger specimens, or arthropods that are more heavily sclerotized (e.g., larger insects). These should first be cleared with another product (e.g., 10% KOH or NaOH), and then mounted in Hoyer's. Other disadvantages of Hoyer's (principally due to chloral hydrate) include toxicity (see above), and procurement problems due to chloral hydrate being a controlled substance.