if it does not contaminate or interfere with your sample you could use silica gel

Thanks Julio, that's a good suggestion. I will have see if I can find any silica gel where I am.

As a trial and error why not put absorbent, paper napkin, to absorb the moisture; then drop the gel between the paper and the glass as suggested by Julio above. Also, oven-drying can be explored, under extremely low heat.

Obianuju P. Umeji

Thanks Obianuju, unfortunately on oven is not something I have access to. I was thinking that I could try something similar to what you suggested by putting the silica gel in the artefact bag that has the vial and then just undo the lid of the vial and seal the bag. The sediment will stay in the vial but the moisture will hopefully get absorbed by the gels. This is all academic until I can find some silica gels

Cheers

Kim

That's a good option and the absorbent paper napkin will help a lot, can even double it and get all the moisture gone..

Obianuju

if your worry is fungal growth or microbial activity destroying the pollen in the samples, it might be better to freeze or refrigerate the samples rather than drying them.

Hi Kim,

Based on what you explained, most probably the vials are acting as a "greenhouse" thereby the moisture in the samples is condensing. So, you are keeping the samples in a warmer place than the environment that enhances the risk of mold growth. Thus, I suggest to keep them in a cold place (refrigerator). If you have no access to a refrigerator, you should take the vials' caps off and wrap the vials with napkin paper (as suggested by Obianuju P. Umeji ) to let the samples dry.

Best, Reza

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to give me advise on this. It is good to know that because I've been in the same climate as the samples were taken then I need not have been so worried about fungal growth. I think you are right @Reza that a 'greenhouse' effect was happening in the vials but I have been monitoring them and I am glad to say that there is no evidence of fungal growth.

Despite there being no growth at the moment, it is definitely something I want to avoid especially as when I return to Australia as these samples will have to go to Quarantine and sit for a while before they get irradiated. I have been unable to get any silica gels where I am currently located (they are already on my list for field equipment for next year) so will go with the paper napkin option. I was hesitant about using a tissue initially as I thought it could introduce contamination but as a number of you have recommended this as an option I have removed the lids to the vials, wrapped the top in a tissue, attached it with an elastic band and then returned it to its individual bag.

Cheers

Kim

Hi Kim,

The napkin paper was an alternative to avoid mold growth in your samples while you were at the field. Now you can simply transfer the samples into 15 ml vials and fill them with distilled water and then store them in a refrigerator. Using this method, samples can be stored for several years without any degradation.

Best, Reza

Great thanks

I have always used paper lunch bags and double or triple bagged the samples. This allows the samples to dry but also protects from contamination. This also prevents fungal growth which will act on the pollen within the sample.