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Yes. The chambered coverglass is great for inverted scopes. I have used
the chambered coverglass a lot and have had no problems fixing with 10%
buffered formalin, my fixative of choice. You can probably get by with
most fixatives if you use a small volume and you shouldn't need to fix
cultured cells for very long. The only problems I have had with our set
up is that the end chambers are sometimes hard to image with our
coverglass stage insert and the plastic tab has to be cut off (a change
in manufacturing happened about 2 years ago, not sure why, anyone?). I
usually only use the center 4 wells of an 8 chambered coverglass.

The chambered slides can also be used on an inverted scope but I don't
like the small gap that remains even after removing the gasket and
therefore almost always image in the chambered cover glass with a small
volume of PBS or HBSS and a water immersion objective for higher
magnifications. 

Good luck.
-Lars

-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Rachael Lim
Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 10:15 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: LabTek chambered coverglass vs. chamber slide

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Hi all,

Would like to ask anyone who has used LabTek II's Chambered Coverglass
and
Chamber Slide.

I read from the FAQ on their website, that the Chamber Slide's upper
structure is made of polystyrene, which is not compatible with many
fixation
reagents; and thus, it is designed for upper structure and gasket
removal
before fixing, staining and coverslipping.

However, i found from their comparison chart that the upper structure of
their Chambered Coverglass is also made of polystyrene, BUT the upper
structure is non-removable. Why is it so? Does this mean that
fluorescence
staining has to be done elsewhere prior to transfer into the Chambered
Coverglass? And are the two products suitable for fluorescence work with
inverted microscope? I have the impression that Chambered Coverglass is
great for inverted microscope, and Chamber Slide is for upright
microscope.

Please advise. Thank you!

Cheers,
Rachael Lim