3 Types of Glass Coverslips

Glass coverslips are small squares that cover the specimen on the microscope slide, they flatten the specimen, enhancing the viewing and minimizing the evaporation rate of the sample. This article will discuss three types of glass coverslips and how they are used.

What is a Glass Coverslip?

Coverslips are thin, flat pieces of glass that are about 20mm wide and less than a millimeter thick. The coverslip is placed over an object so it can be viewed with a microscope and placed on top of a glass slide that rests on the microscope itself, providing the physical support for the object.

The glass coverslip holds the specimen in position using the weight of the slip or a wet mount created by surface tension. It also protects the specimen from accidental contact, dust, and debris and it also protects the microscope itself from coming into contact with the specimen. Siliconized glass coverslips are used to hold droplets in positions offering optimal conditions for vapor diffusion.

Importance of Glass Coverslips

There is no need to compensate for a glass coverslip when carrying out investigations as objectives are designed for a coverslip in the light path. The glass coverslip must be only as thick as necessary for your investigation because thick coverslips take up too much of the working distance (often 300 micrometers or less).

Glass is the optimal material for coverslips as it doesn’t depolarize or scatter light. They are also not subject to autofluorescence in the same way that plastics are.

 Gold Coated Coverslips

Gold-coated coverslips

Gold films deposited onto glass coverslips have extremely beneficial optical properties such as selective reflectivity and transmissivity. The benefit of gold-coasted glass for imaging applications is the topographical uniformity. In traditional imaging, visible light illuminates and magnifies samples for advanced imaging techniques to go beyond what can be seen by eye.

Gold-coated glass coverslips from Platypus Tech come in three different configurations:

Glass coverslips are a key element of a range of investigations, enhancing the accuracy and viewing of the specimen. To find out more about the glass coverslips offered by Platypus, get in touch with us today.