[Nhcoll-l] Restoring a damaged transparent specimen

[Claire Smith]

Hi everyone,

 With apologies for cross-posting, I'm looking for some advice about working with a damaged specimen.

It's a newborn monkey that was originally an alizarin transparency, prepared by the Spalteholz technique (https://doi.org/10.1016/s0940-9602(01)80020-0), with our catalogue listing the preservative as "Methyl salicylate 5: benzyl benzoate 4".

In 2008 it was apparently in poor condition with crystal deposition, and it was transferred into 100% glycerol.

Currently, a lipid layer has formed at the top of the fluid, which is also cloudy - presumably also with suspended lipids.
The tissue is no longer transparent.

My questions are:

Is it possible to make the tissues transparent again? (If so, how?!)
Is it best to keep the specimen in glycerol, but dilute it to a more appropriate concentration?



Many thanks,

Claire



*******

Survey: Fluid Preservation Methods in Biological Collections

https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/reading/fluid-preservation-methods-in-biological-collections



*******

Claire Smith (she/her), AFHEA

Graduate Teaching Assistant: Tuesdays and Wednesdays

PhD Researcher: Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays


Cole Museum of Zoology

University of Reading

claire.smith at reading.ac.uk<mailto:claire.smith at reading.ac.uk>

www.linkedin.com/in/wetconservatrix<http://www.linkedin.com/in/wetconservatrix>
Social media: @wetconservatrix


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