The Use of Glycerol for Oil Immersion Brightfield Microscopy / Nerriza Jay Catli ; John Angelo Dolorito ; Frances- Grace Martin ; Joyce Rodvie Sagun ; Sonorah Songgod ; Kitchie Torres and Ludy Mary Zulueta.

Abstract: Cedarwood oil, the standard oil medium in oil immersion brighfield microscopy, is an imported and expensive material in the country while glycerol, commonly used in cosmetic products, is easily available and an affordable materials has properties to be considered for oil immersion brightfield microscopy. This study intended to prove that glycerol can be used as an oil medium by determining the effect of glycerol in oil immersion brightfield microscopy in terms of clarity of image, maintenance of the specimen's integrity, and cleanability of the lens of the microscope in comparison with cedarwood oil. This experimental study used peripheral blood smears as specimens focused under the oil immersion objective using cedarwood oil and glycerol. Three registered medical technologists and two pathologists were double blinded then examined and evaluated the specimens by using a grading sheet provided. Results revealed that cedarwood oil did not obtain the highest grade in some of the parameters while glycerol did obtain the highest grade in all of the given parameters. Chi-square test was employed to compute for the p-value for comparison. It was concluded that glycerol can be used as an oil medium in oil immersion brightfield microscopy based on the obtained results.

Thesis - School of Medical Technology