[Nhcoll-l] Holotype specimens on SEM stubs

[Shoobs, Nate]

We use a method devised by a former graduste student (and longtime friend of the museum.)
If you order a certain kind of patent-lip shell vial between 1 and 2 drams... they often come with a solid stopper made of polypropylene<https://acmevial.com/products/plastic-stopper-ag-1/>.
These stoppers can be easily poked through with an awl or a lab probe, and you can easily push the pin of a stub into it. This makes for a very stable stub holder that can be stored either upside down, right side up, or sideways, and with a big enough drying chamber you could probably store them in the slotted containers that vials usually ship in.
When the stopper + stub is placed back in the vial, it creates an an air and watertight seal, just like using the vial for fluids would do, so my feeling is that these would be very appropriate for types. We put a label on the inside of the vial like we would any other (one that wraps around the inside and faces out, so it doesn't touch the stub), and store many of these in glass chambers with desiccant (3L bail top jars filled with dessicant work great.)

I have had mixed experience with the TedPella singletons Paul mentioned.
They are pricy and the plastic has a strong tendency to craze/crack if opened and shut too many times. They are not really airtight before that, either. I do like the multi-stub holders TedPella sells, however, for keeping sets of stubs organized, especially for hand carried transportation.
Good luck!
-N


-
Nathaniel F. Shoobs, Curator of Mollusks
College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University
Museum of Biological Diversity
1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212
614-688-1342 (Office)
mbd.osu.edu<http://mbd.osu.edu/>
________________________________
From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of Callomon,Paul <prc44 at drexel.edu>
Sent: Saturday, December 14, 2024 7:42:57 AM
To: Menard, Katrina <katrina.menard at uconn.edu>; NHCOLL-L <nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Holotype specimens on SEM stubs

We use single-stub storage tubes for long-term storage of SEM type material, coated and uncoated: https: //www. tedpella. com/storage-boxes-bags_html/SEM-mount-storage-boxes. aspx#_16630 These are sufficiently airtight that their internal conditions


We use single-stub storage tubes for long-term storage of SEM type material, coated and uncoated:

https://www.tedpella.com/storage-boxes-bags_html/SEM-mount-storage-boxes.aspx#_16630<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.tedpella.com/storage-boxes-bags_html/SEM-mount-storage-boxes.aspx*_16630__;Iw!!KGKeukY!0QtNjy_OiZxzYpGazsRxZwQPXOGIgsalWGoCzwCXEPz4Su74TaA8bsyK-ymPfgnvMdLPZhkxcNW0oio4$>

These are sufficiently airtight that their internal conditions will equilibriate, and we keep them in cabinets within our normal collection space, which is 50-65 degrees F and 50-70% rH.

Of course, this likely will prove too expensive for large-scale storage, in which case a dry chamber or dry room is likely to be more economical.





Paul Callomon
Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates

________________________________

Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia
callomon at ansp.org<mailto:callomon at ansp.org> Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170

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From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of Menard, Katrina
Sent: Friday, December 13, 2024 12:32 PM
To: NHCOLL-L <nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Holotype specimens on SEM stubs



External.

Hi All,



We have received a request to deposit a holotype of a protist into our collection, but the specimen was used for SEM. We have desiccation chambers for storing SEM stubs for working research, but I wanted to know if there is a best practice for long-term storage of SEM specimens that are designated holotypes/type material. Do other collections utilize sequestered chambers for type material, or is there another way to store unicellular type material that was coated?



Thank you for all of your input and suggestions,



Katrina

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Katrina Menard (she/her)
Collection Manager, Invertebrates
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
University of Connecticut
Unit 3043, 75 N. Eagleville Rd.
Storrs, CT 06269-3043
email: katrina.menard at uconn.edu<mailto:katrina.menard at uconn.edu>

Zootaxa Section Editor: Miroidea






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