Australia's Science Forum

Hi everyone,
Do prepared slides fade over time? Or are they meant to last?
I am in the process of ordering new slides as our collection are yellow and some are faded so bad you can't even tell if anything is on the slide.
Was just wondering so I don't purchase too many of a slide then have to replace in 12 months. (have a small budget)
How long/reasonable time frame do you except from a purchased prepared slide?
Just curious, Cheers Trish

The yellowing is the ageing of the mounting media/glue.

I suppose that the stain could fade over time but I would say it would have to be a long long time. How are they stored? in a dark cupboard? My last school had slides decades old (I hazard a guess some were over 50 years old) and I didn't encounter fading but did have yellowing.

Same here. We have some really old ones. I have thrown out the worst of the yellow ones and the broken or unidentifiable ones. I wouldn't be concerned about them deteriorating in 12 months or even 5 or 10 years. Store them safely and they'll be fine for many years.

Thanks, they are stored in a microscope slide box. Out of direct light when not in use. But they are probably so old.
Thanks for the replys. Trish

I had some that had faded, not yellowed, although they were stored in a box in a cupboard. I think they were about 10 years old.