Preparation of different types of mount

September 24, 2020

Mounting can be defined as the placing of the specimen or sample(e.g cheek cells) on a glass slide for microscopic observation. There are various ways of preparing mount. Some of them are as follows:

A) Wet mount

It is a common slide preparation method in the laboratory.
This method is applied for instant observation of the materials.

Place 2-3 drops of water on the centre of the glass slide. Mount the material with the help of brush or forceps.

Apply the coverslip and remove the excess water along the edge of the cover-slip with blotting paper or with a piece of cotton cloth.

If water under the cover-slip dries out, add a drop of water at the edge of cover-slip so that water will drain under the cover-slip by capillary action.

B) Whole mount

This method is applied when the entire specimen is to be studied.
Normally, the whole mount is prepared to study the unicellular organisms, thin thalloid materials and anatomical sections.

Put a few drops of mounting media on a slide. Place the stained or unstained specimen on it.

Cover it with a cover-slip. Remove the excess liquid using the blotting paper.

C) Tease mount

Sometimes, when the study material is compact, then it is separated into small pieces with the help of a needle.
This material is known as teasing mount and is generally applied to study algae and fungi.

Put a drop of mounting medium on a glass slide.

Place the specimen on it.

Tease it into small fine pieces by using two needles in two hands. Make it a thin spread.

If necessary, add mounting medium enough for a cover-slip. Apply the cover-slip over the spread. Remove the excess liquid with blotting paper.

D) Temporary mount

When the material has to be kept fresh for few hours for study, a temporary mount is prepared.

Put a few drops of glycerine on the glass slide.

Transfer the material on it and cover it with a cover slip.

Remove excess liquid along the edge of the coverslip with a blotting paper.

E) Permanent mount

The permanent mount is prepared when the material has to be preserved for a long time.
It is a long process where the material is passed into different concentrations of alcoholic series for dehydration process.

Put a drop of Canada balsam on a slide.

Transfer the dehydrated material over the mount and cover it with a coverslip.

Keep it undisturbed for some days in a safe place for drying.

After drying, wash out the excess Canada balsam outside the cover slip.

Stick a name of the material, the parts shown on it and date of preparation in a square inch paper on the left hand side of the slide.