Course on fluid preservation of biological specimens

Course
Fluid Preservation
Horniman Museum
100 London Road
London SE23 3PQ
1-4 November 2010

Day 1           Introduction (including local logistics, fire-exits,
10-00 start     risks, allergies)

                Power-point 1: Overview of course  technology and
                histological effects of fluid preservation

                Questions and tea-break,  discussion about the
                importance of fluid collections, fixation versus
                pseudo-fixation

                Compounding  of sealant/s (gelatine, Acrifix,
                bitumen)

                Glass cutting, grinding, drilling demonstrations and
                participation (demonstration and practical)

                Rehydrations started (d and p)

                Relevance  of injecting fresh material with fixative

                reparation  of jars (checking, grinding out
                blemishes (d and p)

                Dehydration/ Hydration ladders start (d and p)

                Thread mounting of specimens (d and p)

                Celloidin mounting of snails to specimens and labels
                (d and p)

    17.00       Check rehydrating specimens and fix and inject if
                they are ready, else leave (unheated) overnight
                (d and p)

Day 2.          Power-point 2: Narcotisation, historical sealants,
09.00 start     pelagic (jellyfish) mounts, botanical preservatives

                Check of previous day's work, analyse and correct
                problems

                Move  specimens in ladders (d and p)

                Changing fluids in sealed jars (d and p)

                Making  glass needles and their use in specimen
                repair (d and p)

                Celloidin specimen repair (d and p)

                Releasing vacuum in Visijars (talk if none
                available)

                Thread  mounting of specimens (continuation)
                including jellyfish on acetate discs (d  and p)

                Move  specimens in ladders (d and p)

                Unsealing  jars containing specimens requiring
                treatment (d and p)

                Other types of sealant including historical sealants
                (d only)

    17.00       Sealing of jars that are ready (d and p)

Day 3           Power-point 3: Preservatives, lipids, copper wire
                staining

                Checking of previous day's seals (d and p)

                Assessing  problems: evaporation and dilution

                What has  happened if your Hirst is 'off-colour'?

                Dealing with lipids and other contaminants including
                fungal growth

                Copper salts staining specimens, from being mounted
                on copper wire

                Detecting  preserving fluids and auto-dilution
                problems: use of map pins and Alcomon 'pills'

                Making  your own specific gravity detector (d and p)

                Which  preservatives should you use? (on hand-outs)

                Problems of mixing fluids  (exothermic due to binary
                azeotropy and leading to air bubble formation)

                Buffering  and pH levels (d and p)

                How  to deal with air bubbles, especially those
                trapped inside rehydrated specimens;  (small
                portable vacuum pump required: d and p)

                Stretching polypropylene rod (d and  p)

                Topping  up sealed jars, 'corking' and sealing
                Checking for problems and why these may have
                occurred

Day 4.          Power-point 4: Transparencies, labels, tubes in
                jars, jar types, storage areas

                Maybe transporting and posting loan specimens if
                time allows

                Check of nearly-finished  jars, are they leaking? If
                so, why,  what has caused this--understanding how
                and why problems can occur and why deadlines can be
                difficult to  meet!

                Dealing with transparencies -- keeping fluids
                including glycerol, propylene glycol, methyl
                benzoate and turpentine and problems associated with
                these

                Sending fluid-preserved specimens by post or
                courier, worldwide  policies changing year to year

                Which  jars are best for your collection? How to
                store such  collections so that they need minimum
                monitoring and maintenance

                Labels and their problems, which paper/s to use.
                Internal or external labels?

                Tubes in jars--how to seal, invert or not?

                Storage  areas

                Plastination--ethics

Interested?  Then contact Simon Moore <couteaufin<-at->aol<.>com> or see

    <URL:http://www.natural-history-conservation.com>

for  full details and modest cost.

Simon Moore MIScT, FLS,  ACR
Conservator of Natural Sciences
20 Newbury Street
Whitchurch RG28 7DN


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 24:12
                 Distributed: Tuesday, August 10, 2010
                       Message Id: cdl-24-12-014
                                  ***