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Hi All,
I'm still quite new to all of this. First I tried slicing samples with my kitchen knives...still not thin enough.

Then I found out about a device called a Microtome. Looked on eBay...found some $10,000 contraptions. Lovely but not quite my budget.

What do the rest of you use? Are there are microtomes under USD $100 (74 Euros) that any of you would recommend?

That is a great question

I have been looking for a microtome for years

So far .. I have found units from $75 or so to $700. When I first started looking .. yes .. they were mostly many thousands of dollars.

There are the bench microtomes .. the rocking microtome and this company now claims they have rotary microtomes in the $600 - $700 range. They also have a bench and rocker microtome.

Products | Microtome Depot

Sorry .. I can't say which one is better .. myself i want to section plant material. Leaves in particular and want to get good results. I'd spend $600 or so but I have not heard anything yet about this company.

It seems practice and technique go a long way with the less expensive models. The other thing is it requires a lot of chemicals if you are going to go all out and really completely embed the subject in wax.

I hope someone can help out. It's been a thorn in my side !!!

Syd ...

I looked at the page you cited and were I looking for a microtome (don't have one that works) the small desk manual model would be my choice. It's not too expensive and as described seems like it would be a good fit for a hobbyist. Several years ago I picked up a box of plastic handled scalpels that would be ideal for cutting the sections. They have a very sharp and rigid blade that could be used several times before the edge became to ragged. I would think that a double edged razor blade would also work if you were careful. Maybe a single edged razor blade would work as well.

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Your advice makes sense.

My goal would be to make a large collection of botanical sections of leaves that grow in my area. Something that could be used later by later generations as a scientific reference. I would not mind the more expensive units if i knew they worked. The company has a ten day return policy backed with a one year guarantee.

I would like to make a lot of slides showing the gross anatomy. The big obstacle is the chemical end of it. The expense and toxicity of certain chemicals may not be good for a make shift lab.

Though a modified procedure of less complexity may work well for the sectioning i want to try. Maybe i should first start with the bench microtome just to get on a roll and then decide later on a bigger microtome.

If I remember correctly rotaries like these used to be a few grand. I remember a company from india making cheaper versions of the known brand. I thionk these may be from India and not sure if they work as well as the older brands.

Thanks again.. always appreciated.

Syd ...

I think this is the first question you should answer. It won't matter how good your microtome is if you cannot get and/or use the necessary chemicals. Since I have never made a prepared slide I can offer no further advice about chemicals.

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A pixel is worth a thousand words but it takes a thousand words to explain a pixel. g2b2

I think you are correct.

What I might do is buy the bench microtome and do some small test. For what I am after it may not be necessary to infiltrate my subject with wax but use the wax as an outer support .. as one would use a carrot .. except the wax would mold better around odd shaped specimens.

I could also try a modified infiltration using a more simple set of chemicals.

There is really so much that can be done without fancy gear. I tend to complicate things.

Thanks again ...

Syd..

I bought one of the cheap hand held ones. Forget those. You can do fairly well with double edge razor blades and scotch tape one edge. The microtome is for getting flat and evenly shaped cuts, which you can manage fairly well with your own fingers and some practice.

ptmodov.htm

If you must spend money, go to E-bay first, look around, give it a month for something really choice to show up, they usually do.

And, you will need stains for the plant tissues. I started with Toluidene blue, a wonderful stain that stains different parts of the cells different colors, all in one drop.

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<strong>Laboratory Equipment</strong> Microscopes : New York Microscope Company
is this what your looking for?

If you really want to do this, you probably need one of these <http://www.ebay.com/itm/AUTOTECHNICON-MONO-TISSUE-PROCESSOR-RECONDITIONED-/290574940655?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a79d b9ef>, in addition to a decent microtome. The microtome alone won't do you any good, as it is designed to cut tissue embedded in paraffin. You could probably devise a "home brew" way of embedding tissue, but the Autotechnicon makes it easy.

In college I looked through the windows into the histology lab and saw people with purple fingers (from the stains), so I avoided that course. In my work I found myself wandering down a research path that led me to learn a bit of histology. If you are careful, you can avoid turning your fingers (or your house) purple. As you say, the some of the chemicals are toxic, but by now I think there are less- or non-toxic substitutes available.

I was working only with animal tissues, so I don't know about what additional problems are involved in studying plant tissues. Here is a quick summary of the process: <http://www.molecularinfo.com/MTM/J/J2/J2-1/J2-1-2.html>.

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John Karlsson
Hope Valley, RI

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