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When viewing microorganisms on glass microscope slides, it is beneficial to sterilize the slides when finished to rid them of potentially harmful bacteria. Disinfecting microscope slides entails exposing them to an agent that can remove bacteria; sterilizing them will also remove bacterial spores but requires a different and more involved process. In most cases, disinfection is all that is needed, but if you are working with a virulent bacteria or potentially contaminated blood samples, consider sterilization as well.
instructions
Wash the microscope slide with gentle soap and water. This will remove traces of stain from gram staining, grease pencil marks or oil from oil immersion lenses. If the microscope slide was prepared using a stain, chances are it was passed through a flame that will kill the bacteria on the slide. In this case, you may not need to disinfect the slide because a simple soapy water washing will effectively clean the slide. At this point you can either disinfect or sterilize the slides.
Dip the microscope slides in the disinfectant solution. Many solutions are available but a 10 percent solution of chlorine bleach and 70 percent isopropyl alcohol are both inexpensive, work well and are easy to purchase. Other solutions designed specifically to disinfect laboratory equipment are commercially available (e.g., hypochlorites, phenols) and may be more effective at killing more virulent or resistant bacteria. It is preferable to leave the microscope slide in contact with the solution for at least four hours to ensure complete disinfection (six hours if the sample on the slide was blood).
Retrieve the slides from the disinfectant wash. Either pour the disinfectant out while retaining the slides or use tongs or a special slide holder to retrieve the slides. Rinse the microscope slides with clean water. If your water is soft and will not leave hard water stains, simply air dry the slides. Otherwise, wipe them gently with lens paper, which is specifically designed not to leave behind lint or scratch glass slides.
