Microscope Slides

How to tell the quality of a microscope slide.

Wettability: Uniform wettability of microscope slides permits unbiased observations using a microscope and thus is an important property. Due to the Duran Group microscope slide’s very good surface quality, they exhibit excellent uniform wettability. Cheaper slide surfaces can contain defects, dirt or glass corrosion which result in poor wettability. To test the wettability of a slide simply dip the slide into water, the slide should remain wet with a nice even layer of water on the face of the slide. If the water beads and runs of an untreated slide it has poor wettability which is a sign of the poor surface quality and the corrosion that has already started.

Paper inserts: Cheaper slides can add paper inserts between the slides to hide defects, dirt or glass corrosion. Initially the paper inserts delay the glass corrosion but then accelerate it due to the moisture trapped in the saturated paper. Due to the Duran Group’s excellent surface quality and superior quality glass these paper inserts are not necessary. 

For a video demonstration on the quality of Duran Group’s Microscope Slide see below: