Leica Biosystems VT1000 P - Manual (Page 36)

36 Operating Manual V 1.0 – 01/2010
5. Operation
The surfaces onto which the specimens are attached must be clean, dry and free of adhesive
residue from previous applications.
The specimen mounting blocks provided have a hard surface coating that should not be
impaired, even by repeated sectioning operations with razor blades.
• Carefully wipe the surface of the specimens to be attached using absorbent paper to
remove fluid residue that could impair the adhesion.
• Apply a sufficient quantity of adhesive to the contact surface so that the entire specimen
is fixed.
• Experience has shown that most deviations in the quality of the sections is due to partial
detachment of the specimens.
• Because the adhesive effect sets in very quickly, the specimen should be applied to the
adhesive surface carefully and accurately the first time.
• If the specimen permits, carefully press on it to increase the adhesive effect.
Note that in all cases requiring adhesive mounting, thickness of the specimen should be kept
as small as practical to maximize rigidity.
Create a uniform, level surface with a cursory manual processing; this will reduce the time
needed for cutting the specimen to size using the blade.
Adhesive Mounting (continued)
Be very careful when using the adhesive, as it very easily sticks to human skin. Avoid
direct skin contact with the adhesive under any circumstances.
If, despite this, you come into direct contact with the cyanoacrylate adhesive provided,
first allow the adhesive to air dry, then wipe it off with a towel soaked in acetone. When
unintentional bonding of skin occurs, separate by a "peeling" (rather than pulling) action
after applying acetone to bond area.
Instructions for a clean bond