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Polysciences sells polystyrene nanobeads starting at 40 nm and  
increasing in size in 10 and/or 25 nm increments. These would give  
you complete freedom with respect to  bead size, label, mounting  
medium, coverslip type and thickness, and location on the slide.
--
Julio Vazquez
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Seattle, WA

On Apr 18, 2011, at 10:49 AM, Dan White wrote:

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> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> *****
>
> Hi Mike and Pete
>
> On Apr 15, 2011, at 7:02 AM, CONFOCALMICROSCOPY automatic digest  
> system wrote:
>
>>
>> Date:    Thu, 14 Apr 2011 10:27:38 +0200
>> From:    Peter Gabriel Pitrone <[log in to unmask]>
>> Subject: Re: FocalCheck test slide: Vendor Update
>>
>> *****
>> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
>> *****
>>
>> Dear Mike,
>>
>> This is great news! Thanks for listening to your costumers wishes.
>
> Halleluja!
>
>>
>> I still am of the opinion that each bead size should be on it's own
>> slide. The "one slide fits all" method (with 6 positions in a  
>> straight
>> line) needs to be discarded, because it is impossible to even  
>> reach the
>> last two positions.
>
> yes, and the beads need to be in the middle of the slide to be  
> visible on an OMX
> or other system / stage with restricted stage travel.
>
> Also.. what exactly is the refractive index of the mounting medium,
> and what exactly is it anyway?
>
> Can we get 50 nm diameter bead slides for super resolution  
> structured illumination microscope systems like the omx?
>
> 100 or 170 nm are not small enough....
>
> cheers
>
> Dan
>
>>
>> Thanks again!
>>
>> and best regards,
>>
>> Pete
>>
>>
>> On Wed, 2011-04-13 at 16:01 -0500, Mike Ignatius wrote:
>>> *****
>>> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>>> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
>>> *****
>>>
>>> Dear Listserve members,
>>>
>>> We are pleased to announce that we were able to improve the mounted
>>> tetraspec beads products described in this colorful email string  
>>> from over a
>>> year ago (with some comments extending back to 2005).
>>>
>>> Tertraspec beads are now mounted on the #1.5 coverslips, not the  
>>> slides.
>>>
>>> It took some doing - overspray from the mask used to find the  
>>> bead focal
>>> plane was our biggest unanticipated issue that delayed this so  
>>> much.  Many
>>> apologies to anyone out there that remained on backorder.  But  
>>> the product,
>>> T14792 and other bead mounted slides, like our intensity and size  
>>> bead series,
>>> F36909, are now on the coverslip.
>>>
>>> Frankly they look terrific - wish I could post an image.
>>>
>>> Kind Regards,
>>>
>>> Mike Ignatius
>>> Molecular Probes/LifeTechnologies
>>>
>>> On Fri, 26 Mar 2010 17:31:10 -0400, Ignatius, Mike
>>> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Dear Listservors,
>>>>
>>>> Thank you all very much for your contributions to this discussion.
>>>>
>>>> We have always used #1.5 coverslips(which range from 160 to 190
>>> microns).  All biological objectives (except those with  
>>> correction collars) are
>>> designed for these. Going to #1 coverslips would only narrow  
>>> things by 30
>>> microns at best and defeat the optical correction factor.
>>>>
>>>> We continue to encourage do-it-yourselfers (DYI) slides as  
>>>> others have
>>> mentioned, and include protocols to do this.  We are very  
>>> generous in the
>>> quantities of beads shipped - you can make dozens to hundreds of  
>>> slides from
>>> one vial. However we developed the multiple bead slides as a cost  
>>> savings to
>>> the customer needing more than one bead type.  Buying 10 bead  
>>> preps is 2-5x
>>> what one of the prepared slides will cost.
>>>>
>>>> Unfortunately, the prepared slides are a quite a challenges to  
>>>> make in
>>> quantity.  We have strict QC standards - our scrap rate and thus  
>>> costs are
>>> high.  We haven't implemented a QC step with oil objectives  
>>> because of the
>>> damage to the slide that would entail.  As mentioned in an  
>>> earlier post we are
>>> addressing this going forward (first up mounting on coverslips).
>>>>
>>>> We will refund anyone that is unable to see their beads on our  
>>>> slides of
>>> course.  Just call our Tech Support for a credit or replacement,  
>>> at 800-955-
>>> 6288, then selection 2, then selection 4 to request this.
>>>>
>>>> Regards,
>>>>
>>>> Mike Ignatius
>>>>
>>>> Molecular Probes/Lifetechnologies
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Confocal Microscopy List
>>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Peter Pitrone
>>>> Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 6:03 AM
>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>> Subject: Re: FocalCheck test slide
>>>>
>>>> They sell these "test slides" for hundreds of dollars, yet they  
>>>> don't take the
>>> time to make them right?!?! They should be made with correct  
>>> coverslips
>>> chosen for their thickness, deposited on them and then mounted on  
>>> the glass
>>> slide... I see that there is a disconnect some where, how much  
>>> does it cost
>>> them to produce these slides? 10 bucks maybe...
>>>>
>>>> Pete
>>>>
>>>> On Mar 26, 2010, at 12:25 PM, Guy Cox wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> No, no, it IS the problem!  As Mike Ignatius explained, MP put  
>>>>> the beads on
>>> the slide, not the coverslip, then add mountant and then the  
>>> coverslip.  If you
>>> are using a #1.5 coverslip you need to put the beads directly on the
>>> coverslip.  With the beads on the slide the extra thickness of  
>>> the mountant
>>> needs to be corrected for by using a thinner coverslip - #1 or #0  
>>> - which
>>> must be found by trial and error.  (But since I guess they are  
>>> using very
>>> reproducible conditions they only need to do the test once).  At  
>>> least it seems
>>> they have realized they have a problem.
>>>>>
>>>>>                                      Guy
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: Confocal Microscopy List
>>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of MICROSCOPIA
>>> CONFOCAL y CCD
>>>>> Sent: Thursday, 25 March 2010 10:15 PM
>>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>>> Subject: Re: FocalCheck test slide
>>>>>
>>>>>> Thanks a lot for your answers.
>>>>>
>>>>>> Of course I put the slide upside down when using
>>>>>> inverted microscope and I asked for Molecular
>>>>>> probes about coverslip and they answered me:
>>>>>> "The coverslip thickness for the FocalCheck
>>>>>> prepared slides is 0.13-0.16 mm" It´s no ideal
>>>>>> but I think that this is not the problem.
>>>>>
>>>>> M. Teresa
>>>>>
>>>>> SERVICIO de MICROSCOPIA CONFOCAL y CCD
>>>>> Mª Teresa Seisdedos Domínguez
>>>>> Oscar Hidalgo Blanco
>>>>> Amadeo Cazaña Soto
>>>>> [log in to unmask]
>>>>> Centro Investigaciones Biológicas (CIB) CSIC
>>>>> C/Ramiro de Maeztu, 9
>>>>> 28040 Madrid
>>>>> Phone: + 34-91 8373112 ext.4401
>>>>> Fax: + 34-91 536 04 32
>>
>> -- 
>> Peter Gabriel Pitrone
>> Microscope Specialist
>> Max Planck Institute
>> for Molecular Cell
>> Biology and Genetics
>> Pfotenhauerstr. 108
>> 01307 Dresden
>> Germany
>
> Dr. Daniel James White BSc. (Hons.) PhD
> Senior Microscopist / Image Processing and Analysis
> Light Microscopy Facility
> Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
> Pfotenhauerstrasse 108
> 01307 DRESDEN
> Germany
>
> +49 (0)15114966933 (German Mobile)
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> +49  (0)351 210 1078 (Fax MPI-CBG LMF)
>
> http://www.bioimagexd.net		BioImageXD
> http://pacific.mpi-cbg.de		Fiji (is just ImageJ - batteries included)
> http://www.chalkie.org.uk
> [log in to unmask]
> ( [log in to unmask] )