Posted by
Stanislav Vitha on
URL: http://confocal-microscopy-list.275.s1.nabble.com/Cotton-wool-for-lens-cleaning-tp6175236p6179148.html
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Hi Aleksandrs,
I like to use the method where you clean the lenses without touching them.
I learned this from Karl Aufderheide when he was showing this trick to my LM
course students.
1. Don't touch anything (even lens paper) to a lens surface except as a last
resort. Avoid especially commercial facial or bathroom tissue because it could
contain diatom frustules (glass!) as a filler. One pass of a kleenex over a lens
could possibly ruin it!
2. Hold a piece of lens paper or other tissue over a lens. Place a few drops of
ethyl ether on the paper and draw the paper across the lens surface so that
the ether flows rapidly in a circular pattern over the recessed lens surface. In
this way, the ether contacts the lens but the paper does not, because the
lens is recessed.
3. Inspect the lens using an inverted ocular as a magnifier. Repeat the ether
wash if necessary.
4. If ether does not remove the dirt, try first distilled water, then chloroform,
then xylene or benzene, in that order. If all else fails, try a 1:1:1 mixture of
water, alcohol and chloroform shaken just before use. Follow with an ether
wash.
5. For stubborn dirt (e.g., on old student microscopes) use the above solvents
on a clean Q-tip.
Because of safety concerns with ether (formation of explosive peroxides), I
just get a fresh bottle every 6 months, and dispose of the old one through our
Hazardous Waste program.
Stan Vitha
Microscopy and Imaging Center
Texas A&M University
On Tue, 15 Mar 2011 15:03:31 -0400, Aleksandrs Spurmanis, Mr.
<
[hidden email]> wrote:
>Dear list,
>
>The current practice at our facility is to inspect and clean the objectives of
our scopes periodically (approx. once every 2-3 months for each scope) using
lens paper wrapped around small clean-room swabs. I had noticed, however,
that the field service technicians who run the PMs on our instruments tend to
use 100% cotton wool (which I understand to be essentially the same material
as your basic 100% cotton ball in the pharmacy) and are able to service our
lenses in a much more efficient manner (read: waayyy quicker) than myself
using my current methods. In the interests of improving my maintenance
efficiency, I've been considering trying this out myself but wanted to check in
with the list to see if anyone can share their experiences, insights or advice
before proceeding. My main concern is that the cotton might contribute to
premature wear on the lens coating. As cleaning solvents, I use either Glass
Plus, anhydrous ethanol and/or water.
>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Aleksandrs J. Spurmanis
>Microscopy Specialist
>Imaging Facility
>McGill University Life Sciences Complex
>Francesco Bellini Building
>3649 Sir William Osler
>Suite 137
>Montreal, QC
>H3G 0B1
>tel.: (514)-398-5248
>fax: (514)-398-7452
>
[hidden email]
>
http://www.mcgill.ca/lifesciencescomplex/core/imaging/