Microscope Slides
Microscope slides for in vitro diagnostic applications are manufactured acc. to DIN ISO 8037-1 standard and designed for single use by professionals. The slides are used mainly for microscopic investigation of tissue sections and cells from suspensions, preparation of specimens and their archiving.
Marienfeld Superior microscope slides are well wettable and clean. They are manufactured to exact size and, therefore, well suitable for application in automatic machinery.
Material
Our microscope slides are made of soda lime glass of third hydrolytic class with thickness of approx. 1 mm. This glass fulfills all relevant optical requirements for light microscopy. Its composition and physical properties (technical datasheet) can be downloaded here: Material data sheet for microscope slides
Surfaces
Our slides are cleaned thoroughly by multi-stage processes without using any surfactants. Thus we accomplish ready for use, pre-cleaned, well wettable slides‘ surfaces. They preserve adhering cells and are well suited for smears of cell suspensions.
Slides’ edges:
All grinding and polishing processes are always carried out water-cooled. The supreme quality of our edges is unmatched.
For different applications we offer different types of edges:
- Cut edges are suitable for routine applications, when risks of infections do not exist and the economical aspect is of major importance
- Finely ground edges with 90º shape. We apply water-cooled grinding processes which results in remarkably smooth and burr-free edges. When handling infectious materials we strongly recommend using this type of slides for increased safety.
- Finely ground edges with 90º shape and 4 ground corners chamfered at 45°. These slides additionally reduce the risk of cuts. Some types of automatic machinery and printers require the clipped corners.
Marking areas
Our silky frosted marking area is suitable for a fine and contrasty writing with pencil. It has a width of approx. 20 mm by standard - other widths can be produced on request. Our twin-frosted slides (at one end, on both sides) can be used from either side without the necessity of searching the surface that bears the frosted area.
Our printed marking area in white colour or light pastel shades accepts notes by most types of printers and written with permanent markers (e.g. laboratory marker Cat. No. 6130603). The thin layer of the marking area prevents the slides from sticking together and enables using them on automated systems.
Quality control
All our microscope slides are subject to strict quality controls during the production processes and on the finished product, too.
Packing
Our packing material is made from high quality primary material without recycled paper and without plastic coating. As a result, our boxes are resistant to abrasion and do not affect the quality of the microscope slides. After use, they can be disposed as waste paper.
Our folded boxes have an enlarged finger hole and the lid can be folded to the rear side which facilitates taking individual slides.
We supply microscope slides in small sales units of 2500 pieces (50 boxes of 50 pieces). This carton is reclosable, easy to handle and stack. Its dimensions are 283 x 146 x 160 mm and the weight is approx. 12 kg.
A pallet can accommodate up to 200’000 slides (80 cartons each 2500 pieces). Its dimensions are 120 x 80 x 93 cm and the gross weight is approx. 1000 kg.
Besides our standard packing we offer the following special packing types:
- plastic boxes of 100 pieces: Our HistoBond® product line is supplied in these boxes with detachable cover. The carton contains 2000 pieces and the weight is approx. 11 kg
- 50 boxes of 50 pieces are sealed in a watertight aluminium bag. The carton contains 2500 pieces and the weight is approx. 12.5 kg
Shelf life
Soda lime glass is subject to an aging process which affects the quality of the slides. It is recommended to avoid storing the slides for too long and to use the oldest stocks at first. Your early disposition of slides helps us to optimize our production planning and to supply the slides in time.
Use up the microscope slides until the recommended best before date.
Use the oldest stock at first (first in – first out).
Storage
- store microscope slides always in a dry place
- open the carton only when slides reached the room temperature
- make sure that temperature remains constant. When cooling down condensation may occur and penetrate between the slides letting them stick together.
- do not store slides close to solvents as this might turn their surfaces hydrophobic
- A detailed instruction manual for slides can be downloaded here: Instruction manual for microscope slides
