Slide Making Medium & Slide Making

[Red_Green]

G'day, eh all the way from up Canada way. I recently graduated as a fish and wildlife technician, wildlife scientist and something of a biologist. I'm from the Ontario.

My name is unimportant. For my graduation present to myself I got myself a microscope as I greatly enjoyed the stuff we did in college with them. Identifying algae, protozoa and various lower life forms, aging fish scales and otoliths and bear teeth and what have you. Actually I wish I could of had my own while I was in college but whatever. I don't much like forums so I reckon I probably won't post much but I have a problem. I started making my own slides from specimens I collected and as I got into er' there, I started to look into making better slides with more professional products. As I searched, I realized, you can't really buy actual science lab grade mediums in Canada. Like Canada Balsam, ironically. I have found a few things here and there but the cost is into the hundreds of dollars, being in Canada and all and the government steals all our hard earned. So it's completely out of the equation there, eh. So I have no options of "real" mediums.

Anywho, been gettin' er' done with some clear nail polish as Oliver teaches, from Dollarama there but I don't much like it. It always leaves film around whatever I mount, eh. After it evaporates down. It shrinks and envelopes the specimen. Also leaves the nasty bubbles sometimes, crikey. Is more expensive brand name clear nail polish going to be any better ya'll reckon?

So not being able to find proper medium, I ordered up on the Amazon, some gorilla, non foaming clear glue that i'm going to giver er' a try with and see what happens, there. Also ordered some gorilla crystal clear tape in which I plan to use on making slide mount spacers for bigger items such as porcupine quills, and ticks and such. As it's supposed to be waterproof and crystal clear and only .2 more thick than cover glass thickness.

I already made a slide of baby porcupine quills, an Eastern Black-legged Tick and am currently working on a mosquito slide. Mounting 2 pupa's, Larvae's and two adults (waiting for them to hatch in my specimen jar) to display the full life cycle on one slide, minus the eggs.

Anybody have any experience on any of these items? Or any DIY mediums?

I should mention too, eh that I don't really want to screw around making syrups and other snake oils. Just things I could buy that would work.

Also I can confirm that gorilla glue original or brown colored or whatever is no good. Once she starts to foam, eh. Crikey, I tell ya what, the whole darn slide explodes and shatters and she's done fer'. Also hot glue gun glue is a no go as well. These should be avoided.

I added a pic of an Eastern Black-legged tick there, fer' ya'll. Right in dark field there. That there is from the slide I made with cheap ol' dollarama clear nail polish.

Oh also, eh. If anybody is interested in seeing what a North American Porcupine quill looks like under the scope', I got er' posted here; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/45655180

Also have posted a few other microscope things such as other ticks, mosquito, blackfly a few algaes etc.

One last thing. Even though my scope is halogen, I like me some LED Action. So I got these bulbs ordered up as well.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01N30 ... UTF8&psc=1

Ya'll reckon they'l work? Figure it's like headlights on the truck there, eh. Just pop er' on in and get er' done I reckon?

[jimur]

If you haven't done so as yet follow this link to http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk A very informative UK site.

I understand you don't care to mix your own now but you may change your mind in the future. Once on the site search WALTER DIONI He has an excellent series on very worthy DIY medium for different subject mounts with loads of great info.

[Hobbyst46]

Nail polish has pros and cons. Like all viscous media, it tends to trap small air bubbles. Regardless of brand and cost, IMHO. Simply, air bubbles travel too slowly in viscous media.
Note that air is trapped among the tiny organelles and limbs of plants, insects and other tiny creature. When covered with mountants, that air must leave (as bubbles) through the honey-like medium. Can be slow and even stall; sometimes, turning the slide to vertical position can help; some folks have applied vacuum to pull out the bubbles.
Nail polish often dissolves plant pigments, so does not preserve the green color of mounted algae.
Of the Walter Dioni recipes, one that is very easy to make and use is fructose syrup. It costs peanuts and the preparation is child's play. It keeps well over time, and does not crack or crystallize - but it does not solidify either. The rims of the coverslip must be sealed with nail polish.
To avoid air bubbles (in all mountants), try not to shake or stir the medium prior to mounting. And when applying to the slide, place a small whole drop of the liquid onto the glass. Do not "blow empty" the pipette, because then air enters the liquid and never leaves...

[mrsonchus]

Ditto the above - all good advice re mountant/s.

[BramHuntingNematodes]

I imagine you have access to actual Canada balsam firs you could tap for their resin. From what I glean from

https://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=24719

No processing other than straining is needed.

[Red_Green]

Thanks everyone for the infos. The last comment gave me an idea. I don't have any access to Balsam Fir's with an appropriate DBH but I do have a big ol' white pine out in the yard. So I tapped the white pine for pine sap. Already got a pill bottles worth. So I tried it out and mounted a mosquitoes head with a tiny amount of white pine sap and the results were awesome. The sap is basically crystal clear minus a few impurities but looking at the lil' ol' decapitated skeeter head under the microscope It gives a crystal clear image.

Pretty happy with the results and plan on doing some experiments with it.

[BramHuntingNematodes]

Awesome!