Biosafe Temperature Controlled Slice Holder
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Control the temperature of your slices on a microscope in this biosafe holder. Optional to mount electrically stimulating probes for muscle investigation
With slices and cells, it is important to print in plastics that do not leach toxins or absorb chemicals between trials. Need 3D prints to be biosafe, but don’t require great tolerances? Try painting on wood glue. Seriously! Titebond 3 is FDA approved for indirect food contact (frequently used for cutting board fabrication). It is super easy to clean up, very restive to chemical penetration, and can aid in liquid sealant. But, this design requires good tolerances…
These parts were printed in clear polyjet MED610, another great alternative for biosafe prints (in fact, it is often used in dentistry). Don’t have a polyjet printer? Neither do we, Rosenberg Industries is aware of ONE Core projects and requirements and has proven success with ONE Core projects.
The temperature of your slices can be controlled a circulating water bath.
This custom designed platform is optimized to form a watertight chamber to keep cells in solution while imaging them on an inverted microscope. The platform has a built-in flow chamber that can be attached to a temperature-controlled, circulating water bath to maintain desired temperatures for your cells, prolonging imaging sessions.
To assemble: First affix M3 Thin Nuts (McMaster 90695A025) into the TempCtrlTop using a basic 5 minute epoxy. Then use the same epoxy liberally on all connecting faces between the TempCtrlTop and TempCtrl bottom. Clamp or place a weight between the objects as they dry. Test the seal using a vacuum or pressure (liq or air) before placing it on a microscope. Take a water resistant, food grade o-ring (McMaster 9561K22) and place it in the recess of the TempCtrlTop (no glue). Do the same in the TempCtrlDisk. Place a 1” round coverslip on top of the o-ring in the TempCrtlTop. The TempCtrlDisk easily aligns against the top with the vertical flat surfaces. Shoulder screws (M2, 6 mm long, McMaster 90265A113) make it very easy to quickly clamp the two surfaces together, sandwiching the coverslip and creating a nice seal. Connect the system to your heater/pump via 1/4” tubing (McMaster 5155T25); use a reducer (McMaster Straight Reducers, Tube-to-Tube) if you have a different size tube system.
Files
| File | Description | File Type |
|---|---|---|
| TempCtrlBottom.ipt | Bottom | ipt |
| TempCtrlBottom.stl | Bottom | stl |
| TempCtrlDisk.ipt | Disk | ipt |
| TempCtrlDisk.stl | Disk | stl |
| TempCtrlTop.ipt | Top | ipt |
| TempCtrlTop.stl | Top | stl |
ONE Core acknowledgement
Please acknowledge the ONE Core facility in your publications. An appropriate wording would be:
“The Optogenetics and Neural Engineering (ONE) Core at the University of Colorado School of Medicine provided engineering support for this research. The ONE Core is part of the NeuroTechnology Center, funded in part by the School of Medicine and by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health under award number P30NS048154.”
