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Thanks for the reply!  I'm a little confused as to how exactly this
works regardless of the "product" involved.  In our particular case,
we have a very irregular opaque substratum on which our biology takes
place.  We can image this nicely using a dipping lens on an upright,
but some colleagues of ours wish to do the same thing and have only
an invert.  We can get the substratum attached to a slide with the
butter side down (protruding through the lens cutout in the
microscope stage, but we then must get a water film, actually about 2
mm of water, between the substratum and the lens.  Furthermore, this
water meniscus must accommodate the motion of the stage during
confocal sectioning.  I simply have a mental block when I try to
imagine how your glove finger would be attached to the lens to form a
pool of water in which the lens would operate.  Doesn't the water
overflow when the stage is moved during sectioning?  Doesn't the
glove touch the stage at some point? Do you have any pictures of this
setup?
Thanks for you advice!
By the way, another researcher here saw my post and also wants to
know what I learn.  Maybe we can give you a "personal communication"
in our next publications :) :)
Rob Palmer

>Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>
>Not sure where I first heard about the idea you're describing, Bob, but it's
>probably been floating around for a while.
>
>A cheaper and less embarassing product more readily found product in a lab
>environment ( no need for a trip to the corner drug store), I've found that
>cutting one finger off a latex lab glove and slipping it over the lens will
>serve much the same purpose in protecting objective lens from liquids.
>
>Trial and error quickly establishes what size of glove and correct finger or
>thumb fits a given objective.
>
>Only caveat is the latex seemed to break down fairly rapidly, so inspection
>for small holes or wear prior to use coupled with regular replacement would be
>advisable.
>
>J. Scott Gens, PhD
>Post-doctoral Fellow
>Indiana University School of Medicine
>Division of Nephrology
>
>Quoting "Robert J. Palmer Jr." <[log in to unmask]>:
>
>>  Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>>  http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>>
>>  Hi all - I remember a post from a confocaler "down under" who had
>>  developed an approach to using a water-immersible (dipping lens, no
>>  coverslip) on an inverted platform.  The approach involved a
>>  prophylactic....
>>  Can anyone put me on to this approach in the literature or put me in
>>  contact with the person who advocated it?  I would also be interested
>>  in other approaches to achieve this end.
>>  Thanks!
>>  Rob Palmer
>>  --
>>  Robert J. Palmer Jr., Ph.D.
>>  Natl Inst Dental Craniofacial Res - Natl Insts Health
>>  Oral Infection and Immunity Branch
>>  Bldg 30, Room 310
>>  30 Convent Drive
>>  Bethesda MD 20892
>>  ph 301-594-0025
>>  fax 301-402-0396
>>
>>
>>


--
Robert J. Palmer Jr., Ph.D.
Natl Inst Dental Craniofacial Res - Natl Insts Health
Oral Infection and Immunity Branch
Bldg 30, Room 310
30 Convent Drive
Bethesda MD 20892
ph 301-594-0025
fax 301-402-0396