[NHCOLL-L:4325] cryo- and ethanol vial marking pens needed

[Carol Spencer]

Dear NHColl Members,

Here at MVZ we have used a number of different pens for marking cryovials in
the field. Sometimes these pens are also used for marking vials that have
ethanol tissues, plus we often subsample cryovial tissues into ethanol tubes
for sending off for loans.

Recently we have tried many different pens, and have not found one that
meets our needs. These are the characteristics we need 1) Does not come off
with 95% ethanol after the ink is dry, 2) Does not come off tubes after they
have been frozen and are covered in frost (when the frost is rubbed off)
and, 3) Does not come off when writing on them while prepping oily birds or
mammals (that latter is not quite as important but is still a consideration
for us) or with lysis buffer.

I was wondering if anyone has a pen they prefer that meets all or most of
these required characteristics?  Also we are switching our entire collection
of -80C tissues to liquid nitrogen, so the ink must stay on in liquid
nitrogen conditions also (plus we use liquid nitrogen in the field for flash
freezing tissues in dewars).

Here is the list of pens that we have previously used, with notes from Ted
Papenfuss on why they are not ideal: (These are the ones that do not work.)

>
> VWR- new black ink formula is not ethanol proof (old formula was but they
> are no longer making it). Old style was good for many years, but new style
> no good. New style has blue writing on the side of the pen.
>
> MoistMark Plus - ink does not stick if tube is oily from people's fingers
> who have been skinning birds and mammals.  We found this out in Guatemala.
> Also, the ink does not last long.  Only good for 100 tubes or so. And lysis
> buffer dissolves the ink.
>
> Fisher Brand- not ethanol proof
>
> Securline- does not adhere will to tube.  Ink comes off if frozen tubes are
> stuck together, or frozen and stuck to surface of freezer, or are shaken
> around in a nitrogen tank.


    Sharpie Industrial Marker - comes off with 95% ethanol.


Obviously one solution is to etch the outside of the tubes or include a
paper label inside, but it can be difficult for curatorial assistants to
read tubes when doing subsampling.

Cheers
Carol Spencer

-- 
Carol L. Spencer
Staff Curator of Herpetology & HerpNET Coordinator
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
3101 Valley Life Sciences Building
University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA 94720-3160
atrox10 at gmail.com
atrox at berkeley.edu
TEL: 510-643-5778 /FAX: 510-643-8238

http://www.herpnet.org
http://mvz.berkeley.edu/
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