A2.2 Preparing a Slide
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What is a wet mount?
A temporary slide with specimen + liquid under a coverslip.
Why are wet mounts useful?
They allow observation of living cells and improve visibility.
Why must sections be very thin?
To allow light penetration and prevent overlapping cell layers.
Purpose of a coverslip
Protects specimen, flattens sample, and prevents lens damage.
Why are chloroplasts absent in onion epidermis cells?
They are storage tissues, not photosynthetic.
Why are stains used in microscopy?
To increase contrast and highlight specific structures.
Difference between viable and non-viable stains
Viable stains do not kill cells; non-viable stains require dead specimens.
Example: Trypan blue
Stains dead cells only (live cells exclude dye).
Example: Methylene blue
Stains DNA/nuclei in animal cells.
What is immunofluorescence?
Antibodies tagged with fluorophores bind specific antigens for high specificity imaging.