Improved methods for using glass coverslips in cell culture and electron microscopy

Abstract

For many applications, cells or tissue must be cultured on an optical surface of high quality. For such applications laboratories often prepare 'special dishes,' which are made by affixing a glass coverslip beneath a hole in a plastic petri dish bottom. In this report, we offer an improved method, using Parafilm as a dry mount adhesive, for the preparation of special dishes, and show that the resulting dish is nontoxic to neurons in culture. The Parafilm bond is stable at 60°C, permitting electron microscopy resins to be poured directly into the dishes and cured. The glass coverslip can be readily removed from the cured resin mechanically. The techniques we describe offer time-saving and reliable improvements for the use of glass coverslips in cell culture and electron microscopy.