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Snakeskin specimen

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 7:18 am
by GrbovicMicroscopy
I have recently acuired a snakeskin specimen, but could not find any information on how to process it for permanent slide making.. Has anyone made a snakeskin slide before? I will try different chemical to soften it a bit as it is a bit older. Will keep you posted on this if anyone is interested.

Re: Snakeskin specimen

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 7:56 am
by MichaelG.
GrbovicMicroscopy wrote:
Sat Sep 21, 2019 7:18 am
... Will keep you posted on this if anyone is interested.
Please do !
MichaelG.
.
Edit: is it a 'shed' or a piece of 'leather' ?
https://patentimages.storage.googleapis ... 147826.pdf

Re: Snakeskin specimen

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 7:59 am
by MicroBob
Hi Petar,
that is for sure an interesting object and I have never heard of anybody who made slides from it.
It this the translucent kind of skin the snake has left behind? It might be similar to fish scales any you might be able to use the same preparation technique. I would suggest this:
- cut 8 by 8 mm squares of the skin
- put them in demineralized water to soften them
- put one square on a slide, another slide on top, clothespin to press them together
- immerse in isoproypl alcohol to remove water
- remove one slide
- Put drop of Euparal on specimen
- put cover slip on top
- dry for a longer time with a weight on top so the skin stays flat

Bob

Re: Snakeskin specimen

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 8:18 am
by GrbovicMicroscopy
I thought of placing the specimen in isopropyl alcohol directly. Guess that would not do the skin good so i will follow the fish scale technique. As i have enough of the specimen i will try to mount it in Entellan, canada balsam and glycerin jelly. The glycerin jelly will be a challang as it requires heating..

Re: Snakeskin specimen

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 8:21 am
by GrbovicMicroscopy
MichaelG. wrote:
Sat Sep 21, 2019 7:56 am
GrbovicMicroscopy wrote:
Sat Sep 21, 2019 7:18 am
... Will keep you posted on this if anyone is interested.
Edit: is it a 'shed' or a piece of 'leather' ?
Its a shed, if you by leather mean a piece of processed snakeskin.

Re: Snakeskin specimen

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 8:28 am
by MichaelG.
GrbovicMicroscopy wrote:
Sat Sep 21, 2019 8:21 am
Its a shed, if you by leather mean a piece of processed snakeskin.
... I couldn't think of a better term than 'leather'

MichaelG.

Re: Snakeskin specimen

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 8:45 am
by GrbovicMicroscopy
MichaelG. wrote:
Sat Sep 21, 2019 8:28 am
GrbovicMicroscopy wrote:
Sat Sep 21, 2019 8:21 am
Its a shed, if you by leather mean a piece of processed snakeskin.
... I couldn't think of a better term than 'leather'

MichaelG.
I understand what you wanted to say, thank you for the article on the process and Bob for the fish scale protocol! 8-)
I should have time after work today, so hopefully expect some pictures!

Re: Snakeskin specimen

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 9:11 am
by MicroBob
Euparal can handle a rest of water. Canada balsam not so you would have to introduce a xylene bad before.
I'm looking forward for you results!

Re: Snakeskin specimen

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 4:32 pm
by mnmyco
I warm glycerin jelly on a coffee cup warmer or candle warmer. Works well and on some of the warmers the whole slide can also be placed flat on the heat plate.

This book is dirt cheap on amazon and has tons of info for slide making, keeping various protists in culture, and other great info.

https://www.amazon.com/Sourcebook-Biolo ... 0155828525

MNMyco

Re: Snakeskin specimen

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 7:17 pm
by 75RR
This is an earlier edition (1958), of A Sourcebook for the Biological Sciences

https://ia801003.us.archive.org/26/item ... 00morh.pdf

Very interesting/useful book. Pity they don't hand them out to students, would have been useful to know what the teacher intended ;)

Re: Snakeskin specimen

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 7:48 pm
by MichaelG.
75RR wrote:
Sat Sep 21, 2019 7:17 pm
This is an earlier edition (1958), of A Sourcebook for the Biological Sciences
Well done, Sir ... Thanks for the link.

MichaelG.

Re: Snakeskin specimen

Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 4:49 am
by mnmyco
75RR wrote:
Sat Sep 21, 2019 7:17 pm
This is an earlier edition (1958), of A Sourcebook for the Biological Sciences

https://ia801003.us.archive.org/26/item ... 00morh.pdf

Very interesting/useful book. Pity they don't hand them out to students, would have been useful to know what the teacher intended ;)
I have been talking it up for a fee years now. Especially to the k-12 (non-university, usa system) teachers. Lots of the things in it can be simplified to teach even kindergarten kids.

Re: mitosis in onion root tips

Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2019 1:44 pm
by Culicoides
Many years ago (about 70!) I used to stain onion root tip sections with crystal violet. As I remember the method was flood slide with sections with 1% Crystal violet for a couple of minutes, pour off stain, flood with Lugos iodine for a couple of minutes, pour off iodine, pour on acetone then immediately wash in water. Chromatin violet, rest of section colourless.
This came from a brilliant small booklet “BDH standard stains”. Long out of date but it may be possible to find one second hand.
Acetocarmine can be used for temporary preps of giant salivary glands of blood worms (larvae of Chironomid flies).
Worth a try with onion squashes. Have fun.
Culicoides

Re: Snakeskin specimen

Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2019 2:23 pm
by mrsonchus
Hi, for the chromosomes most 'basic' (in pH terms not complexity) stains will do, including of course the venerable and excellent Crystal-violet, suitably mordanted with Lugol's. Another suitable (basic) stain is Safranin - which is far more stable in the presence of alcohol than C-violet, and is able to give a nice metachromatic stain if you're lucky. You may even try to differentially stain the mitotic spindles along which the chromosomes travel as they divide, with an 'acid' stain such as Fast-green.

Be very reserved when using Crystal-violet as it is an extremely potent stain and will overstain details horribly in the blink of an eye...
I'd start with 0.1% Crystral-violet (mayeb start at 10-30 seconds) and a short (maybe 10 seconds) period of Lugol's after a water-rinse of excess C-v.

My area isn't really live staining but I may well have a quick go as you've gone and got me all interested with your excellent posts!

Keep-up the good work!

John B.