Public Lab Research note


Sample prep for Passive Particle Monitors

by mathew , AmberWise | July 11, 2016 21:04 11 Jul 21:04 | #13280 | #13280

Left to Right: Cap with Mesh, Aluminum SEM stub to hold sample, 0-80 x 1/4" screws, glass coverslip. Photo: @AmberWise

This post describes @AmberWise's procedures and lessons-learned in cleaning and assembling a passive particle monitor slide, part of ongoing work to replicate the UNC passive particle monitor.

Cleaning Mesh Cap & SEM Stub

TBA

...place scotch magic tape on top of mesh cap

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Coverslip prep and sealing

This same procedure should be used for cleaning slides before analysis.

Holding the glass coverslip with tweezers, clean by rinsing with ethanol or isopropyl alcohol:

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Still holding with tweezers, Dry with a low-lint wipe such as a KimWipe(TM) or lens paper. Bathroom tissue and paper towels are too dusty.

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With a fine tip marker, draw a small dot on the edge of the coverslip to aid in focusing the microscope on the upper side of the coverslip.

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Place cleaned coverslip inside the mesh cap. Orient the coverslip so that the dot is facing towards the mesh of the cap,

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place SEM stub on slide cover and use small screws to secure it in place:

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Place covered stub within a polystyrene cup and cover with another cup to keep clean until deployment.

deployment-ready monitor

more on deployment

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Notes on Cleaning Glass

We compared two different methods for cleaning-- cleaning with alcohol, and cleaning with compressed air for electronics cleaning. The compressed air method left particles on the slide, potentially from propellant chemicals:

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