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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
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http://www.mcgill.ca/lifesciencescomplex/core/imaging/