>I have a customer who is using wet fluorescence mounting protectant. They
>been having trouble with this material contaminating the immersion oil and
>have not been successful in sealing the coverslip to the slide (finger
>nail polish). They've asked if there are any hardening mountants which
>might fuction as well as VectaShield. I'm not aware of any but thought I'd
>ask. Thanks in advance for any responses.

Vectashield works fine and coverslips can be sealed.  You just have to make
sure you wick away any excess from under the coverslip before sealing.  I
used to mount thick sections in agar then seal with nail polish using the
same process, and have also mounted in water and sealed with valap (equal
amounts of vaseline = KY jelly in US I think, lanolin and paraffin, melt
over gentle heat before use).

good luck

Rosemary White
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia
phone  61-3-9905 5670    email  [log in to unmask]
fax    61-3-9905 5613       or  [log in to unmask]
**currently on sabbatical at U. Missouri, Columbia**