I have some microscope slides with brain tissue slides on them. They have a glass cover slip over all of the slices. I'll do oil drop on them in order to observe, but when I'm cleaning up I have to use alcohol. It's been a while since I've walked into the laboratory, and it's difficult for me to get a hold of my supervisors. As such, anyone know which alcohol I should be using?

 

Isopropanol?

70% ethanol?

 

I cannot seriously recall nor reason as to why not to use one rather than the other.

70% ethanol is for disinfection. For oil removal you can use either isopropanol or ethanol.

If it means anything, the room also has a fluorescent microscope, of which I don't ever use.

To clean off fluorescent microscope slides is a isopropanol or ethanol used? Does it matter?

 

I really somewhat chuckle and think it's insane that there are two bottles of alcohol.

 

I'll ask my supervisor the next time I see him, though.

Why is it insane that there are two bottles of alcohol? We have at least 11.

 

Use the isopropanol.

Isopropanol and ethanol are realatively close in terms of their dissolution ability. Ethanol is slightly more polar and more salt tolerant. However, for cleaning purposes denatured ethanol should be used (due to cost issues). I have no idea why a well-equipped lab is insane (well, two bottles is rather poorly equipped, actually).

Windex works just fine for dirty or immersion oil covered slides. SM