Cleanest microscope slides for D/F microscopy

[mrlowndes]

Hello

I'm looking for the cleanest D/F images possible and am wondering if anyone has any recommendations for the cleanest brand of microscope slides out of the box and...

best technique for cleaning microscope slides for spotless Dark Field imaging?

Thanks

[micro_pix]

Hi,

I clean the slides and coverslips in an ultrasonic bath using a solution of Decon 90, then wash in de-ionised water, then leave them in diluted acid for 5 minutes, wash in de-ionised water again then rinse with ethanol. I then store them in ethanol in plastic slide containers until I want to use them.

Any quality slide should be fine when cleaned but I haven’t seen any yet that are clean enough out of the box. You can get quality precision coverslips and I think that they make a difference for high magnification and darkfield photography. Thorlabs sell quality slides and precision coverslips but they aren’t cheap.

Dave

Some techniques are too dangerous to do without the necessary knowledge and PPE, but there are alternatives for doing it at home.

Good point - I’ve edited my answer a little.

[Ichthyophthirius]

best technique for cleaning microscope slides for spotless Dark Field imaging?

Hi,

For cleaning at home or in a lab? Some techniques are too dangerous to do without the necessary knowledge and PPE, but there are alternatives for doing it at home.

Basically,
mild alkali or acid + ultrasonic bath
strong detergent + ultrasonic bath
rinse in purified water
(blow)dry

You make it easier for yourself by starting with clean slides (Menzel or Marienfeld are already very clean out of the box).

[mrlowndes]

best technique for cleaning microscope slides for spotless Dark Field imaging?

Hi,

For cleaning at home or in a lab? Some techniques are too dangerous to do without the necessary knowledge and PPE, but there are alternatives for doing it at home.

Basically,
mild alkali or acid + ultrasonic bath
strong detergent + ultrasonic bath
rinse in purified water
(blow)dry

You make it easier for yourself by starting with clean slides (Menzel or Marienfeld are already very clean out of the box).

Thanks so much. I have also found this article about getting super clean slides for darkfield imagery: http://users.wfu.edu/bonin/Microscope/U ... Slides.htm

[mrlowndes]

You can get quality precision coverslips and I think that they make a difference for high magnification and darkfield photography. Thorlabs sell quality slides and precision coverslips but they aren’t cheap.

Dave

Great! Thanks, I'll look into those

[zzffnn]

Easy to wipe off those "dust" with a soft cotton cloth. I have done lots of darkfield at home, without using chemicals.

Cover slips with precise thickness do help with optical quality.

[Soki]

Hi,

i always use surgical spirit for cleaning in combination with soft toilet paper or a soft cloth.
After that I use an air blower bellows (normally used for sensor cleaning) to remove any particles left.

Surgical spirit is very good for removing immersion oil, too. Even the lacquer ring of very old slides isn’t harmed with this handy fluid.

best,
Simon

[Lou Jost]

That's interesting. I've never heard of it. What is its chemical name?

[Alan Wood]

Lou

In the UK, you can buy surgical spirit from Boots:

https://www.boots.com/boots-surgical-sp ... l-10075125

Active ingredients: Methyl Salicylate, Diethyl Phthalate, Castor Oil.
Other ingredients: Ethanol 90%. Methanol 5% w/w.

Alan Wood

[Soki]

Hi,

i can only recommend petroleum ether of highest purity, called Benzinum medicinale.
I get mine from the drug store for a few bucks (Germany). They fill me up a bottle of 100ml.

The surgical spirit from boots contains oil besides other ingredients and therefore isn’t suited for this purpose. The oil is good for the skin when used the traditional way, but will probably leave stains on surfaces.

Best,
Simon

[mneium]

I only use 1.5H coverslips, which are too expensive for me to use as disposables on good conscience. So I do coverslip cleaning once a week.

I use a Magnasonic brand ultrasonic cleaner I picked up off eBay used for $15.
30 parts distilled water, heated - 1 part Dawn dish detergent usually takes everything off after 30 minutes. Then change the water for an ultrasonic rinse.

If there is something this doesn't remove, a soak in a solution of distilled water and lye does the trick