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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Dear Megan,<br>
you could use formaldehyde indicator strips whcih necessitates to
open every jar. At least judging from our fish collection,
formaldehyde stored specimens turn opaque over time and the fluid
gets a yellowish tone (other than the yellowish-brown stained
alcohol) because of the decalcification. (there are plenty his for
"formaldehyde indicator strips") <br>
<br>
You would need larger amounts of formaldehyde leaking from the
specimens into the alcohol to be able to smell it (unless for
formalin-sensitive people perhaps); another good option to
recognise formaldehyde contaminations in alcohol is to check for
thin paraformaldehyde needles / precipitations at the bottom or
floating in the fluid (easily detectable if you hold the jar
against a lamp). This precipitation also froms if you transfer
your specimens in an alcohol ladder (normally at the final step
from 60 -> 70 % in packed jars with many specimens). <br>
<br>
Hope this helps...<br>
Dirk<br>
<br>
<br>
Am 06.03.2014 15:31, schrieb Dietrich, Elizabeth:<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Something
to keep in mind-<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Based
on our sampling, by chemical analysis, of fluids in tanks of
preserved animals, if the animals were fixed or previously
preserved in formalin there will always be a significant
amount present in the alcohol. By significant, I don’t mean
by quantity but as a hazard. I would caution against doing
much sniff testing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<div style="border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF
1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu">nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu</a>
[<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu">mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu</a>]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Best, Megan<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, March 06, 2014 9:03 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu">nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu</a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Nhcoll-l] Telling formalin from ethanol<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""
lang="EN-CA">Hello all,</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""
lang="EN-CA">I’ve been benefitting from the conversations on
this listserv for some time now,</span><span lang="EN-CA">
</span><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""
lang="EN-CA">really fascinating and useful stuff.</span><span
lang="EN-CA"> </span><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""
lang="EN-CA"> I manage a research collection, mostly of
marine invertebrates, and I have a question:</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""
lang="EN-CA">Is there an easy way to tell if</span><span
lang="EN-CA">
</span><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""
lang="EN-CA">a fixative is formalin or ethanol? </span><span
lang="EN-CA">
</span><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""
lang="EN-CA">Aside from the smell test!</span><span
lang="EN-CA"> </span><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""
lang="EN-CA"> I’m looking to organise</span><span
lang="EN-CA">
</span><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""
lang="EN-CA">hundreds of jars from various benthic surveys,
and we want to switch out anything that’s in formalin to
ethanol. The formalin is buffered so I don’t think a pH
difference would be a strong indicator. Any ideas/advice
would be appreciated.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""
lang="EN-CA">-Megan</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><b><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:green"
lang="EN-CA">Megan Best</span></b><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""
lang="EN-CA"><br>
<span style="color:green">Invertebrate Taxonomy</span><br>
</span><span
style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:green"
lang="EN-CA">tel: 902.426.2791 email:
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:megan.best@dfo-mpo.gc.ca">megan.best@dfo-mpo.gc.ca</a></span><span
lang="EN-CA"><br>
</span><span
style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:green"
lang="EN-CA">Ocean and Ecosystem Sciences Division |
Division des sciences de l'écosystème et de la mer</span><span
style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""
lang="EN-CA"><br>
<span style="color:green">Department of Fisheries and Oceans
| Ministère des Pêches et Oceans</span></span><span
lang="EN-CA"><br>
</span><span
style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:green"
lang="EN-CA">Government of Canada | Government du Canada</span><span
lang="EN-CA"><br>
</span><span
style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:green"
lang="EN-CA">Bedford Institute of Oceanography | Institut
Océanographique de Bedford</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Dirk Neumann
Tel: 089 / 8107-111
Fax: 089 / 8107-300
email: Dirk.Neumann(a)zsm.mwn.de
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81247 München
Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung:
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---------
Dirk Neumann
Tel: +49-89-8107-111
Fax: +49-89-8107-300
email: Dirk.Neumann(a)zsm.mwn.de
postal address:
Bavarian Natural History Collections
The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology
Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Lab
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