 Chemically , the perxenate compounds are used as oxidizing agents in analytical chemistry . Xenon difluoride is used as an etchant for silicon , particularly in the production of microelectromechanical systems ( MEMS ) . The anticancer drug 5 @-@ fluorouracil can be produced by reacting xenon difluoride with uracil . Xenon is also used in protein crystallography . Applied at pressures from 0 @.@ 5 to 5 MPa ( 5 to 50 atm ) to a protein crystal , xenon atoms bind in predominantly hydrophobic cavities , often creating a high @-@ quality , isomorphous , heavy @-@ atom derivative , which can be used for solving the phase problem . 
