[NHCOLL-L:5274] Re: Alcohol gel preservative

[John E Simmons]

If you have no wish to ever use the insects for scientific research and want
to go to a lot of trouble for non-permanent mounts, then the method might be
useful.  Personally, if I was going to go to that much trouble, I would
embed the insects in plastic to make longer-lasting preparations.

However, one major caveat:  The use described for the alcohol gel is not, in
any way, what the gel is intended for and as a result, there may well be
health risks with the process, depending on what is in the gel.  According
to Wikipedia, "The active
ingredient<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_ingredient>in hand
sanitizers may be
isopropanol <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isopropyl_alcohol>,
ethanol<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol>,
n-propanol <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propan-1-ol>, or
povidone-iodine<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Povidone-iodine>.
Inactive ingredients in alcohol rubs typically include a thickening
agent<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thickening_agent>such as
polyacrylic
acid <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyacrylic_acid> for alcohol gels,
humectants <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humectant> such as
glycerin<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycerin>for liquid rubs,
propylene
glycol <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propylene_glycol>, and essential
oils<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_oils>of plants."

--John

John E. Simmons
Museologica
128 E. Burnside Street
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania 16823-2010
simmons.johne at gmail.com
303-681-5708
www.museologica.com
and
Adjunct Curator of Collections
Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery
Penn State University
University Park, Pennsylvania


On Mon, Feb 21, 2011 at 9:37 AM, Sharon Reid <Sharon.Reid at fera.gsi.gov.uk>wrote:

> Apologies if I have missed a discussion on this previously, I don’t
> remember seeing one. What to people think to using this method for storing
> insect specimens to be used in field ID training?
>
>
>
>
> http://www.slideshare.net/sdroege/how-preserve-insect-specimens-in-hand-sanitizer
>
> *--  *
>
> *Sharon Reid*
>
> *Entomologist and Invertebrate Collections Curator*
>
>
>
> Plant Pests and Diseases Programme
>
> The Food and Environment Research Agency
>
> Sand Hutton, York, YO41 1LZ
>
>
>
> Email: sharon.reid at fera.gsi.gov.uk
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> Web: www.defra.gov.uk/fera
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