Isopropanol (also called isopropyl alcohol or IPA) is a colorless, flammable solvent that has very strong degreasing, dehydrating and disinfecting properties. Isopropanol is therefore a component of many disinfectants. Due to its additional grease-dissolving property, isopropanol is also used in industry and in the cleaning sector.
Isopropanol achieves particularly good results as an effective means of combating mold infestation, as a surface disinfectant, and as a skin and hand disinfectant.
In histology, it is used as a dehydrating step because it has very good miscibility with water, ethanol and xylene. In some laboratories, isopropanol in the undiluted form is also used as a xylene substitute.