Final Report of the Committee on Histologic Mounting Media

Lillie, R. D.; Zirkle, Conway; Dempsey, Edward W.; Greco, J.

doi:10.3109/10520295309105103

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Properties of the media in Tables 5, 6, 8, and 9 are certainly also true for the properties of chemically related media. For Alcarin, Clearax (Göke 2000: formation of crystals after several years), Diatopan, Dirax C, Gurr's Neutral Mounting Medium, Histoclad®, Histokitt, Histomount, Mahady Micromount, Malinol, Meltmount, Mikrops, NeoMount®, Omnimount™ (deterioration problems known), Plexisol, Pontalite, Pro-Texx, UV-Inert, Vinylite, XAM (not available after 2007), ZRax, data is so sparse that they are not treated in detail (Skiles & Georgi 1937;Lillie et al 1950Lillie et al , 1953Gray & Wess 1951;Beck 1959;Meller 1985;Westheide & Purschke 1988;Koomen & Vaupel Klein 1995;Brown 1997;Göke 2000;Wiggins & Drummond 2007).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Horie (2011, p. 41) also states that "all polymers must be expected to oxidize, either quickly or slowly, over time" and suggests inter alia not to use polymers that contain plasticizers (e.g., nail varnish, Araldite) and shrink considerably on drying (e.g., gelatin; Horie 2011, p. 105-106). Conservation issues have rarely been considered in previous suggestions for ideal mounting media (Scott 1951;Lillie et al 1953;Loveland & Centofanto 1986;Hrauda 1990;Koomen & Vaupel Klein 1995;Brown 1997;Ravikumar et al 2014).…”

Section: Coverslipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because of problems of Canada balsam with stains on sections (see below), considerable efforts have been taken to develop new mounting media with the advent of new plastic polymers but also to test resins from other plants than the Canada fir, which delivers Canada balsam (see reviews by Southgate 1923;Wicks et al 1946;Lillie et al 1950Lillie et al , 1953. Among these plant resins tested for their suitability for mounting biological specimens on slides is Yucatan elemi (Southgate 1923).…”

Section: Coverslipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(b) Especially diatom specialists need a much higher refractive index than the regular media offer. (c) Histologists require information about compatibility of stains with the mounting medium and a refractive index close to that of the tissue (Lillie et al 1950(Lillie et al , 1953Gill 2013, p. 262;Ravikumar et al 2014). Lillie et al (1950Lillie et al ( , 1953 investigate the suitability of several mounting media for stained histological sections.…”

Section: Coverslipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(c) Histologists require information about compatibility of stains with the mounting medium and a refractive index close to that of the tissue (Lillie et al 1950(Lillie et al , 1953Gill 2013, p. 262;Ravikumar et al 2014). Lillie et al (1950Lillie et al ( , 1953 investigate the suitability of several mounting media for stained histological sections. (d) From a curatorial point of view, the following characters should be regarded as essential for a good mounting medium of entire biological specimens (see also Brown 1997;Ravikumar et al 2014):…”

Section: Coverslipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Collection management and study of microscope slides: Storage, profiling, deterioration, restoration procedures, and general recommendations

Neuhaus

Schmid

Riedel

2017

Zootaxa

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A wide range of aspects concerning microscope slides, their preparation, long-time storage, curatorial measures in collections, deterioration, restoration, and study is summarized based on our own data and by analyzing more than 600 references from the 19th century until 2016, 15 patents, and about 100 Materials Safety Data Sheets. Information from systematic zoology, conservation sciences, chemistry, forensic sciences, pathology, paleopathology, applied sciences like food industry, and most recent advances in digital imaging are put together in order to obtain a better understanding of which and possibly why mounting media and coverslip seals deteriorate, how slides can be salvaged, which studies may be necessary to identify a range of ideal mounting media, and how microscope studies can benefit from improvements in developmental biology and related fields. We also elaborate on confusing usage of concepts like that of maceration and of clearing. The chemical ingredients of a range of mounting media and coverslip seals are identified as much as possible from published data, but this information suffers in so far as the composition of a medium is often proprietary of the manufacturer and may vary over time. Advantages, disadvantages, and signs of deterioration are documented extensively for these media both from references and from our own observations. It turns out that many media degrade within a few years, or decades at the latest, except Canada balsam with a documented life-time of 150 years, Euparal with a documented life-time of 50 years, and glycerol-paraffin mounts sealed with Glyceel, which represents almost the only non-deteriorating and easily reversible mount. Deterioration reveals itself as a yellowing in natural resins and as cracking, crystallization, shrinkage on drying or possibly on loss of a plasticizer, detachment of the coverslip, segregation of the ingredients in synthetic polymers, as well as continued maceration of a specimen to a degree that the specimen virtually disappears. Confusingly, decay does not always appear equally within a collection of slides mounted at the same time in the same medium. The reasons for the deteriorative processes have been discussed but are controversial especially for gum-chloral media. Comparing data from conservation sciences, chemical handbooks, and documented ingredients, we discuss here how far chemical and physical deterioration probably are inherent to many media and are caused by the chemical and physical properties of their components and by chemicals dragged along from previous preparation steps like fixation, chemical maceration, and physical clearing. Some recipes even contain a macerating agent, which proceeds with its destructive work. We provide permeability data for oxygen and water vapor of several polymers contained in mounting media and coverslip seals. Calculation of the penetration rate of moisture in one example reveals that water molecules reach a specimen within a few days up to about a month; this lays to rest extensive discussions about the permanent protection of a mounted specimen by a mounting medium and a coverslip seal. Based on the ever growing evidence of the unsuitable composition and application of many, and possibly almost all, mounting media, we strongly encourage changing the perspective on microscope slides from immediate usability and convenience of preparation towards durability and reversibility, concepts taken from conservation sciences. Such a change has already been suggested by Upton (1993) more than 20 years ago for gum-chloral media, but these media are still encouraged nowadays by scientists. Without a new perspective, taxonomic biology will certainly lose a large amount of its specimen basis for its research within the next few decades. Modern non-invasive techniques like Raman spectroscopy may help to identify mounting media and coverslip seals on a given slide as well as to understand ageing of the media. An outlook is given on potential future studies. In order to improve the situation of existing collections of microscope slides, we transfer concepts as per the Smithsonian Collections Standards and Profiling System, developed for insect collections more than 25 years ago, to collections of slides. We describe historical and current properties and usage of glass slides, coverslips, labels, and adhesives under conservational aspects. In addition, we summarize and argue from published and our own experimental information about restorative procedures, including re-hydration of dried-up specimens previously mounted in a fluid medium. Alternatives to microscope slides are considered. We also extract practical suggestions from the literature concerning microscope equipment, cleaning of optical surfaces, health risks of immersion oil, and recent improvements of temporary observation media especially in connection with new developments in digital software.

show abstract