[Nhcoll-l] Use of denatured ethanol for short term storage of molecular samples

Sat Apr 20 00:34:32 EDT 2019

I very much like the turn this thread has taken.
Thank you for the information. I will use the Nelson reference.
Best,
Nick

On Fri, Apr 19, 2019 at 9:02 PM John E Simmons <simmons.johne at gmail.com>
wrote:

> There are lots of stories, few confirmed. Rum on board ship was very
> valuable as the sailors had a rum allotment by navy regulations, so I doubt
> that it was used for preservation of human bodies very often (particularly
> given the navy custom of burial at sea). The case of Lord Nelson was
> unusual enough that the attending surgeon who did the preservation wrote a
> book about it, which is online:
> https://archive.org/details/authenticnarrati00beat/page/n5
>
> According to press reports at the time, people were amazed at how good the
> admiral looked at the funeral, probably because they were not used to
> seeing bodies preserved in alcohol (due to the expense of the alcohol, it
> was rare).
>
> The surgeon used brandy because it had a higher alcohol content than rum,
> and was criticized in the British press for not using rum which was widely
> thought to be a superior preservative (it was not, it was merely more
> common and less expensive). There are several claims that "tapping the
> admiral" and other phrases derived from the preservation of Lord Nelson,
> but I have never seen a reliable source that says the phrases were used. I
> expect they were, as the story sounds reasonable.
>
> One of the factors that allowed Nelson to be preserved was that he was not
> a very large person and fit easily into the barrel. A guard was mounted on
> the deck, either out of respect of the admiral or to keep the sailors from
> trying to tap the keg, or both (depends on who's story you read). There is
> also a story that the body turned over one night in the barrel due to the
> formation of gas in the intestines, which were not well preserved, and that
> a rumor went around the ship that the admiral was alive inside the barrel.
> But the only reliable account of the whole thing we have is Beatty's book,
> which is worth reading:
> https://archive.org/details/authenticnarrati00beat/page/62
>
> Its a great story any way you look at it!
>
> John E. Simmons
> Writer and Museum Consultant
> Museologica
> *and*
> Associate Curator of Collections
> Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery
> Penn State University
> *and*
> Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia
> Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 19, 2019 at 10:38 PM Callomon,Paul <prc44 at drexel.edu> wrote:
>
>> Many senior but dead Royal Naval officers were pickled in rum for the
>> trip home, and many arrived in bad shape as the lower ranks had
>> surreptitiously siphoned it off and replaced it with water. I believe there
>> was actually a term for this.
>>
>>
>> PC
>>
>>
>>
>> *Paul Callomon*
>> *Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates*
>> ------------------------------
>> *Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia*
>> *callomon at ansp.org <callomon at ansp.org> Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax
>> 215-299-1170*
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>> *From:* Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of John E
>> Simmons <simmons.johne at gmail.com>
>> *Sent:* Friday, April 19, 2019 10:07 PM
>> *To:* Peter H Wimberger
>> *Cc:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
>> *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] Use of denatured ethanol for short term
>> storage of molecular samples
>>
>>
>> *Caution: This message came from outside of Drexel.* *Do not click links
>> or attachments* unless you *expected* this email.
>> You can preserve things in almost any strong liquor. Historically, rum
>> was often used and somewhat more famously, Admiral Lord Nelson was
>> preserved in brandy after he was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
>> I have used aguardiente for preserveration several times in Latin America.
>>
>> Particularly for DNA samples, buy the purest, strongest alcohol you can.
>> Everclear sold in the US is good. Depending on which state you buy it in,
>> it may be as high as 190 proof (95%), 151 proof (75.5%), or 120 proof
>> (670%). As far as I have been able to determine, it does not have any
>> additives to it (it is distilled from grain). Avoid anything with coloring
>> in it and gin (which is loaded with botanical ingredients) if possible. If
>> you can't get Everclear, get a grain-based vodka without any flavoring in
>> it. If using low proof (below 190) with a low ratio of fluid-to-tissue, I
>> recommend changing for fresh liquor after 24 hr as it will be diluted by
>> the water extracted from the tissues.
>>
>> --John
>>
>> John E. Simmons
>> Writer and Museum Consultant
>> Museologica
>> *and*
>> Associate Curator of Collections
>> Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery
>> Penn State University
>> *and*
>> Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia
>> Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Apr 19, 2019 at 7:51 PM Peter H Wimberger <
>> pwimberger at pugetsound.edu> wrote:
>>
>> I agree with Dean.  Have used absinthe for mussels as well – it was
>> expensive, but I was in a pinch, and it was the highest proof around.
>> Transferred to 95% EtOH when back in the lab after a few days and DNA
>> extraction, PCR and sequencing worked fine.  Absinthe arguably should be
>> worse for the DNA than Everclear, but it worked.
>>
>> PW
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Nhcoll-l [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] *On Behalf
>> Of *Dean Pentcheff
>> *Sent:* Friday, April 19, 2019 11:50 AM
>> *To:* Nick Cairns <nacairns at gmail.com>; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
>> *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] Use of denatured ethanol for short term
>> storage of molecular samples
>>
>>
>>
>> We have had excellent results on Sanger sequencing (haven't tried
>> genomic) using Everclear (high-proof drinking alcohol). Specimens were
>> preserved in Everclear, then transferred to 95% ethanol a few days later.
>> These were small freshwater crustaceans (aquatic isopods).
>>
>>
>>
>> I'd be more inclined to go towards drinkable alcohol rather than
>> denatured alcohol — if it's safe for human consumption, there probably
>> isn't too much bioactive chemistry going on (other than the ethanol
>> itself).
>>
>>
>>
>> -Dean
>> --
>> Dean Pentcheff
>> pentcheff at gmail.com
>>
>> dpentche at nhm.org
>> https://research.nhm.org/disco
>> <https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fresearch.nhm.org%2Fdisco&data=02%7C01%7Cprc44%40drexel.edu%7C5c07b2c0bc2f464a802408d6c53513b0%7C3664e6fa47bd45a696708c4f080f8ca6%7C0%7C0%7C636913229103443517&sdata=ynE9Dhi8MJ34OrtummJ3ypLvotGgU4X2Iio856dZj08%3D&reserved=0>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Apr 18, 2019 at 2:04 PM Nick Cairns <nacairns at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Hello everyone,
>>
>> I'm seeking guidance on reagents. I'm trying to collect chorus frogs from
>> across western Canada (whole and toe clips). These samples will be likely
>> be extracted using phenol/chloroform then ethanol (EtOH) precipitation to
>> tidy them up. Downstream they'll be used for mtDNA (Sanger) and genomic
>> (ddRAD) protocols. The issue is, I am currently in rural Saskatchewan and
>> only have denatured EtOH (Fisherbrand Histoprep 95%) available to me.  I
>> understand that the additives in some denatured EtOH can cause issues
>> downstream but has anyone ever used it for short term storage then replaced
>> it later with anhydrous to remove the additives? Can these additives be
>> reduced from the tissues after the fact?
>>
>> Any insights would be most welcome.
>>
>> Thank you,
>>
>> Nick
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Nhcoll-l mailing list
>> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
>> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l
>> <https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmailman.yale.edu%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Fnhcoll-l&data=02%7C01%7Cprc44%40drexel.edu%7C5c07b2c0bc2f464a802408d6c53513b0%7C3664e6fa47bd45a696708c4f080f8ca6%7C0%7C0%7C636913229103453526&sdata=MWcTX%2BKu%2F6FZiJTxIOViT%2FkD%2FMDqwTcVMF0sE14T1T8%3D&reserved=0>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
>> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
>> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
>> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
>> society. See http://www.spnhc.org
>> <https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spnhc.org&data=02%7C01%7Cprc44%40drexel.edu%7C5c07b2c0bc2f464a802408d6c53513b0%7C3664e6fa47bd45a696708c4f080f8ca6%7C0%7C0%7C636913229103453526&sdata=AaKuMhTsPJ%2FymNQBTm8Cv%2BxFH0EmkKiWZBh2JS%2FT4N4%3D&reserved=0>
>> for membership information.
>> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Nhcoll-l mailing list
>> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
>> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l
>> <https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmailman.yale.edu%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Fnhcoll-l&data=02%7C01%7Cprc44%40drexel.edu%7C5c07b2c0bc2f464a802408d6c53513b0%7C3664e6fa47bd45a696708c4f080f8ca6%7C0%7C0%7C636913229103463536&sdata=QvdA64bq8sWQ3AJKuP7qQUx3iR9XTtXiSefc1OaZw%2Fs%3D&reserved=0>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
>> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
>> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
>> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
>> society. See http://www.spnhc.org
>> <https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spnhc.org&data=02%7C01%7Cprc44%40drexel.edu%7C5c07b2c0bc2f464a802408d6c53513b0%7C3664e6fa47bd45a696708c4f080f8ca6%7C0%7C0%7C636913229103463536&sdata=UQEcd0WuRVKD7kHZ625dPVCd5v2uvzr4wIW%2FQlMuvtw%3D&reserved=0>
>> for membership information.
>> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
> Nhcoll-l mailing list
> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l
>
> _______________________________________________
> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/nhcoll-l/attachments/20190419/b8e04041/attachment.html>