Preparing slides

[Lessian]

Hello.

Just wanting some info re preparing samples for permanant slides.

'dry' things I have no problem with, since they are not at risk of mould attack or decay etc.

my question is this:

- if I want to do a permanant slide of something living eg bacteria or other cells, how do I prepare them?

- do I need to do anything in particular to make them more visable eg stain, and in what situations would I use what stains?

- do I have to allow food for the little guys, or can I just seal down the cover slip as is?

- how do I preserve the little bacteria or whatever on the slide so I can continue to admire them in a years time?

 

Ta thanks for any help with this one. lol, not even really sure what question I should be asking exactly, so I am hoping there is someone out there who can understand what I am trying to do.

[CharonY]

Usually you cannot keep anything alive under that condition. You generally kill, fix and stain them (not necessarily in that order).

[Mr Skeptic]

You might be able to make yourself a closed micro-ecosystem. Kind of like those enclosed goldfish bowls. You'd need to have photosynthetic organisms and something that eats them, you'd have to keep it illuminated, and I don't know if there is any way you could prevent something from killing off a necessary part of such a small ecosystem. Space scientists tried to make a similar closed small ecosystem with humans, but it didn't really work.

 

Anyhow, I think dead, stained critters is probably as good as you can get for a permanent slide.

[CharonY]

If you manage to create a working ecosystem on a microsclide level, you are in for a nice publication. The best to date possible is using microfluidic systems as microfermenters. But you still need in and outputs.

[Lessian]

ok, so the practical consensus is that a permanant bacterial slide will have dead stained bodies instead of living beasties.

next questions:

- is there a particular stain used for such things?

- do the bodies need to be preserved in any way or are they ok as is?

Ta thanks for all the help with this one, I have a number of colonies stashed in the fridge not so eagerly awaiting their fate