Dear All,
I recently started doing immunocytochemistry/immunofluorescence and I found that removing/picking up coverslip from 24-well cultured plate is very difficult, before I can place it to a microscope slide. Could you kindly share any tip/trick to remove coverslip from 24-well cultered plate?
Thank you very much
Cheerio,
I use round 12 mm cover slips (rather than 13 or 14 mm).
Bend a long syringe needle bent so just the tip at a 90º angle. Dip the needle tip into ethanol to sterilize then scratch the bottom of the well with the needle tip until it catches and lifts the cover slip a bit. Then carefully grab the cover slip with flat tweezers.
I have used round cover slips in a 24-well plate before and I normally use a very fine pair of tweezers, pre sterilised in ethanol and flamed for a few seconds (see picture). I incline my plate towards me and very gently lift the cover slip off the bottom of the well using only one "arm" of the tweezers. Then it's normally pretty easy to grab the cover slip between the tweezers, you just have to be careful not to press too hard (your cover slip will break) or not hard enough (it will fall off).
Yeah! Both bent needle or fine tweezers should work! Then, it is just practice! Good luck!
All excellent suggestions!
I started using the EMS Style 62A forceps with my cover slip/cover glass work a few years ago. I have a few sets and just sterilize them via steam sterilization in our autoclave.
Just thought I'd pass along the information in case you found it useful:
Style 62A: Flat, blunt tips. Ideal for handling coverglass. Length: 4¾" (120mm)
Cat# 78350-62A List $26
http://search.emsdiasum.com/cgi-bin/ss_query?keys=78350-62A&rgn=Default&e=ems&sitenbr=157906848
Easy method: the needle bent at the very end+ tweezers. Trickier method: just tweezers (EM tweezers) with curved tips, keep tips press end and slide them under coverslip, raise coverslip slightly, and while you do this, open up the tips very little (2-3 mm), while keeping the bottom tip still under the coverslip, and re-clamp the coverslip with the top tip, to grab it.
What also helps is making sure you have a lot of PBS in the well ( to the top) so that if the coverslip when lifted slips it will float back slow enough for you to grasp again.
Additionally to all the comments, you can remove the coverslips using the needle and a pair of tweezers, and transfer them to a paper towel with all the conditions described on it (to avoid mixing the coverslips). Afterward, you can remove all the PBS from the well plate and let it dry. Within 5 minutes, you can transfer again the coverslips into the wells. You will not break the glass and then it will be easy to grasp them again.
Hi! I use two watchmakers forceps. On one hand a forceps lifts the coverslip, the other moves under to support coverslip at an angle while the former forceps picks it by the edge. It works like a charm!
Hi! I use two watchmakers forceps. On one hand a forceps lifts the coverslip, the other moves under to support coverslip at an angle while the former forceps picks it by the edge. It works like a charm!
Hi! I use two watchmakers forceps. On one hand a forceps lifts the coverslip, the other moves under to support coverslip at an angle while the former forceps picks it by the edge. It works like a charm!
Hi! I use two watchmakers forceps. On one hand a forceps lifts the coverslip, the other moves under to support coverslip at an angle while the former forceps picks it by the edge. It works like a charm!
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