If the sample is mounted in a hardening mounting medium, I think this is not possible. If it is a non-hardening mounting medium (glycerol-based, etc.,) the following has worked for me:
Carefully scrape off any nail polish sealer from around the edge of the coverslip with a razor blade.
Fill a container with PBS and place the slide coverslip side up in the PBS. Let it sit in the fridge overnight. The next day, you should be able to gently lift the slide off with a pair of forceps.
We have done something similar to what Dr. O'Connell describes above with Prolong Gold, which forms a polymer that holds the coverslip tightly to the slide. Simply place the slide(s) in a staining dish filled with PBS at room temperature or slightly warm (e.g., in a 37 degree incubator) for about 30-45 minutes. You can add very gentle agitation if you wish. The mounting medium will slowly dissolve and the coverslips will start to slide off. In our experience it is very important to let gravity do the work of sliding the coverslip off. If you try to hurry the process by sliding the coverslip off yourself, you run the risk of damaging the tissue sections on the slide. If the coverslip is not ready to slide off completely, give it some more time in the buffer. Once the coverslip is off, you can rinse a bit more to be sure the mounting medium is completely gone before going on to do whatever it is you'd like to do with your sections.
HI, we do the same thing as David and Christopher above for glycerol based mounting medium with or without nail varnish in PBS but at 4C. Do not remove the coverslip fast, let it float as it will lift off any tissue or cells on your specimen. To remove the nail varnish a cotton bud with some acetone should remove it no probs.
Hello
You can soak slides in PBS to remove the cover slip and repair them at 40 minutes . If you have put nail polish on the slide, you may want to leave it over night or use glycerol in PBS at 4C. anyway, As long as you are gentle and slow in removing the cover slip your staining will be fine .
Good Luck
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