Posted by
Keith Morris on
URL: http://confocal-microscopy-list.275.s1.nabble.com/Cotton-wool-for-lens-cleaning-tp6175236p6180663.html
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For lens cleaning Zeiss recommend Zeiss cleaning mixture L, which there
engineers now use since diethyl ether has been withdrawn from their kit
[over fears of solvent abuse and fire probably]. Cleaning Mixture L is 90%
by volume benzoline [petroleum ether sometimes called medical alcohol] and
10% isopropanol [2-proponal, dimethyl carbinol, 2-hydroxyproparne]. The
bottle says Clean the optics by moving in circles, slight pressure should
be exerted on optics during cleaning. Petroleum ether or spirit isnt the
same as the diethyl ether solvent/anaesthetic often used to clean
objectives, but apparently it also does the job for Zeiss optics. I think I
am happy to take my chances with diethyl ether that has been successfully
used on humans with no apparent ill effects [assuming the anesthetist was
competent and not giving off sparks].
We use inverted optics here, and do a lot of live cell imaging. If the
spillage is culture medium a small amount of super pure de-ionised water as
a cleaner might be more suitable to dissolve salts, and I guess organic
solvents could fix any cellular material onto the lens. I'd be careful of
the water evaporating and leaving a residue - the purer the better, and I
use ether straight afterwards [although water is not particularly soluble in
ether]. Otherwise I just use diethyl ether as it dissolves immersion oil
more effectively than alcohol and is considered more lens cement friendly
than alcohol [probably as it evaporates off so fast]. For gentle cleaning
[rather than just wiping off excess immersion oil with Whatman 105s], I also
use Johnson and Johnson cotton buds as well that are '100% pure cotton'
apparently. Oldie but goldie Zeiss Engineers used to use diethyl ether and a
stick and bale of pure cotton wool and just twisted a bit off onto the stick
as they used it.
Immersion oil becomes more acidic during storage, which is harmful to
objectives [so replace stocks if they are a few years old]. For this reason
it would be a good idea to remove oil from objectives with ether prior to
any long term storage. If the objective is left on the microscope the
immersion oil doesn't need 'cleaning off' between users, just removal of any
excess to prevent dripping [immersion oil doesn't dry out]. I guess you only
need to thoroughly clean an objective if it's contaminated with something
else [and unfortunately you have to remove all the immersion oil to see if
the lens is 'clean' - I take off the objective and peer through it from the
rear looking at say a light fitting, using a quality illuminated magnifying
glass and reading glasses [I need the latter anyway].
There was a long thread on this subject back in March/April 2009 [search
'cleaning lens'] that has a lot of useful posts - so check those out. Back
then using Ether for cleaning the top objective lenses seemed to get the
most votes [benzene and toluene being rejected as really being too hazardous
to health]. Some even recommended 'Sparkle glass cleaner' [must be a US
product]. I do use 70% alcohol around the lens barrel for removing oil
contamination [a common problem with our inverted objectives, gravity and
low viscosity immersion oils working against us].
Regards
Keith
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr Keith J. Morris,
Molecular Cytogenetics and Microscopy Core,
Laboratory 00/069 and 00/070,
The Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics,
Roosevelt Drive,
Oxford OX3 7BN,
United Kingdom.
Telephone: +44 (0)1865 287568
Email:
[hidden email]
Web-pages:
http://www.well.ox.ac.uk/molecular-cytogenetics-and-microscopy-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:
[hidden email]] On
Behalf Of Nina Allen
Sent: 17 March 2011 03:26
To:
[hidden email]
Subject: Re: Cotton wool for lens cleaning
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You are right re ether.
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.
If pregnant don't use it to be on the safe side.
Nina Allen
Professor Emerita
Department of Plant Biology
North Carolina State University
Sent from my iPhone
On Mar 16, 2011, at 10:44 PM, Guy Cox <
[hidden email]> wrote:
> *****
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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:
>
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy> *****
>
> 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:
>
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy> *****
>
> 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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