Prepared Slides

JudyM · Post by **JudyM** » 21 Aug 2006, 10:25

I tried to make some prepared slides of stomates using nail polish to peel the guard cells off a leaf.
This worked well as a wet mount but when the time came to fix the cover slip, the Depex mounting medium I used dissolved the nail polish and I ended up with no specimen!
Does anyone have an alternative that won't be dissolved by Depex?

CarolF · Post by **CarolF** » 23 Aug 2006, 15:37

It may be worth trying to use more nail polish to fix coverslip to slide. I have not tried it for this material but have for others. It is worth a try.

beverley · Post by **beverley** » 24 Aug 2006, 10:34

To fix nailpolish imprints of stomates onto slides I just use sticky tape (clear cellotape). This method also works for strands of nylon, cotton, hair and scales off butterflies, moths and pollen. Great for junior introductory slides where there tends to be more breakages. To capture specimens simply hold sticky tape and dab onto object then stick to slide.

JudyM · Post by **JudyM** » 28 Aug 2006, 09:34

Thanks Carole F & Beverly.
I'll give the extra nail polish a try.

Judy