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A couple of years ago, someone on the list suggested a variant of #3: 
Scunci hair-bands.  Cheap, multicolored, moderately absorbant, and 
disposable.  The ones we use are around 4mm in cross-section, and will 
go around the objective twice.  We simply toss them every 2weeks-2 
months (depending on use) and put on a new one.

On 7/26/11 2:47 PM, Elke Kuster-Schock wrote:
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> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
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>
> Hello,
>
> I was hoping for input on how to protect the objectives on an inverted scope
> from oil running down the sides, and ultimately into the objective.
>
> We are running a core facility with many users, and the obvious solution (use
> less oil) doesn't seem to be obvious to some of them.
> Especially on our Zeiss LSM 510s, due to the design of the objectives, we see
> that oil finds its way into the objectives (and in one extreme case, even back
> out of the bottom), and we are wasting time and resources to clean and repair
> them.
>
> I've looked around the web, and brainstormed with colleagues, and found the
> following:
>
> 1 - Cut a finger off an examination glove, cut a small hole at the end, and slip
> over entire objective.
> Concerns: Does the glove fit tight enough so that oil doesn't get sucked under
> it by capillary action? Will the oil degrade latex/nitrile?
>
> 2 - Put an O-ring around objective as an "oil dam."
> Concerns: Similar to 1, worries about tightness of seal, and stability of
> material. What kind of O-ring should I look for? Simple rubber band?
>
> 3 - Create a drip collar (similar to wine bottle collar) by wrapping layers of
> lens paper or other tissue around objective and securing with rubber band.
> Concerns: Similar to 1 and 2.
>
> I would appreciate if people on the forum could give feedback on methods that
> have worked for them.
> Thanks,
> Elke
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> Elke Küster-Schöck
> CIAN (Cell Imaging and Analysis Network)
> Proteomics&  Genomics Coordinator, Microscopy Associate
> McGill University, Montreal QC, Canada
>


-- 
Julian P.S. Smith III
Director, Winthrop Microscopy Facility
Dept. of Biology
Winthrop University
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