[Nhcoll-l] Problems with vegetarian gelcaps

[Ann M Molineux]

Paul,
We had some awful issues from historic gelcap use. Not sure if the chemistry was the same as yours but sounds suspicious. For an example. tiny ammonites in our Type collection were permanently  adhered to the gel. We had difficulty separating specimen from gel without damage, because of some reaction between the gel and the specimen. We do not now use any gel cap in the collection.
Ann
_______________________________________________________
Ann Molineux, PhD | Curator and Collection Manager| Non-vertebrate Paleontology | Jackson School of Geosciences | The University of Texas at Austin
Address: NPL Building 122, 10100 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas 78758|Campus mailcode R5800
Phone: 512-232-5384 Cell 512-791-5521  | Web: Non-vertebrate Paleontology Lab<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.jsg.utexas.edu_npl_&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=a1Gyiq_kDA7ZTsEX9MRQWOQl2v1YmkiWZdtLhlQ6bRE&s=QecjMbxn7HU33H1GqqFVMNu0pRy1E50TB0O8XJQSFoU&e= >  and PaleoCentral<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__paleocentral.org_&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=a1Gyiq_kDA7ZTsEX9MRQWOQl2v1YmkiWZdtLhlQ6bRE&s=HbpHASgX9p0p4tliDrLG75sq7fV5n_fC2_TTsxQuEgw&e= > and Adopt-A-Fossil<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__hornraiser.utexas.edu_project_54f0c83114bdf71ac0ab92ea&d=AwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=a1Gyiq_kDA7ZTsEX9MRQWOQl2v1YmkiWZdtLhlQ6bRE&s=VsFkSNS3C1zIvO6CxLhSUnJmJ1b4d5ZSt3JH_YgctNo&e= > [NEW PROJECT]

From: nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Callomon,Paul
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2015 1:45 PM
To: NH-COLL listserv (nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu)
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Problems with vegetarian gelcaps

Folks,

In January, I purchased some "vegetarian" gelcaps (HPMC - hydroxyl propyl methyl cellulose) for dry storage of small specimens. Examining one from the collection today, I found that it was covered in moisture, both inside and out. Checking the stock of empty vials revealed the same situation - extensive moisture on all surfaces. These have been stored in less than 50% humidity.
Has anyone else had this problem? Retrieving and replacing all the gelcaps we've distributed in the last four months is going to cost us a lot, so I'd be interested to hear from others who've used them.

Paul Callomon
Collection Manager, Malacology, Invertebrate Paleontology and General Invertebrates
________________________________
Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA
callomon at ansp.org<mailto:callomon at ansp.org> Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/nhcoll-l/attachments/20150427/d5d0aeff/attachment.html