http://confocal-microscopy-list.275.s1.nabble.com/Cotton-wool-for-lens-cleaning-tp6175236p6180499.html
I must admit that I haven't had any reason to use anything other than traditional lens tissue for cleaning but was always under the impression that q-tips and cotton-wool balls were not going to damage the lens and it was more to avoid leaving cotton fibres on lenses than any damage they could do.
As for cleaning solutions I have always used iso-propanol for the harder to clean lenses since it doesn't leave streaks like some other solvents and as far as I can tell from the literature I have seen it doesn't have any detrimental effects on the lenses themselves (in fact most commercial products have some iso-propanol in them anyway).
There was a study , now discredited, that nurse anesthetists had more miscarriages.
My daughter, the anesthesiologist, tells me explosions is the danger. There is one reputable report that glycol ether used for cleaning in factories will cause miscarriage increase. Just don't breathe too much and faint.
> *****
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>
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>
> In other words, pretty innocuous if inhaled. (Unless it puts you out
> and you hit your head on the microscope!)
>
>
>
> Guy
>
>
>
> Optical Imaging Techniques in Cell Biology
> by Guy Cox CRC Press / Taylor & Francis
>
http://www.guycox.com/optical.htm> ______________________________________________
> Associate Professor Guy Cox, MA, DPhil(Oxon)
> Electron Microscope Unit, Madsen Building F09,
> University of Sydney, NSW 2006
> ______________________________________________
> Phone +61 2 9351 3176 Fax +61 2 9351 7682
> Mobile 0413 281 861
> ______________________________________________
>
http://www.guycox.net>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:
[hidden email]]
> On Behalf Of Ray Gilbert
> Sent: Thursday, 17 March 2011 1:38 PM
> To:
[hidden email]
> Subject: Re: Cotton wool for lens cleaning
>
>
>
> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy> *****
>
> From the MSDS
>
> Extremely flammable liquid and vapour
>
> * Harmful if swallowed
>
> * Causes mild skin irritation
>
> * Causes serious eye irritation
>
> * Harmful to terrestrial vertebrates
>
>
> Thanks
>
> Ray
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:
[hidden email]]
> On Behalf Of Guy Cox
> Sent: Thursday, 17 March 2011 3:29 p.m.
> To:
[hidden email]
> Subject: Re: Cotton wool for lens cleaning
>
> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>
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>
> Are you certain about ether being toxic? I seem to remember reading
> that ether was just about the safest anaesthetic there is, and the only
> reason it isn't used more widely is its flammability.
>
>
>
> Guy
>
>
>
> Optical Imaging Techniques in Cell Biology
> by Guy Cox CRC Press / Taylor & Francis
>
http://www.guycox.com/optical.htm> ______________________________________________
> Associate Professor Guy Cox, MA, DPhil(Oxon)
> Electron Microscope Unit, Madsen Building F09,
> University of Sydney, NSW 2006
> ______________________________________________
> Phone +61 2 9351 3176 Fax +61 2 9351 7682
> Mobile 0413 281 861
> ______________________________________________
>
http://www.guycox.net>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:
[hidden email]]
> On Behalf Of Nina Allen
> Sent: Thursday, 17 March 2011 12:23 PM
> To:
[hidden email]
> Subject: Re: Cotton wool for lens cleaning
>
>
>
> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>
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>
> Long ago we taught using ether in the fashion described here. Ether is
> very flammable. It is also not good for you.
> So even if it works well it is not a recommended method.
>
> Nina Allen
> Professor Emerita
> Department of Plant Biology
> North Carolina State University
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Mar 16, 2011, at 6:45 PM, Stanislav Vitha <
[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> *****
>> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>>
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy>> *****
>>
>> 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/>
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