Home › Microscopy & Imaging › Chemically clean microscope slides with Piranha solution
Steps
  1. 1 Load slides into glass rack --:--
  2. 2 Calculate volumes for Piranha solution 00:08
  3. 3 Pour hydrogen peroxide into container 00:29
  4. 4 Slowly add sulfuric acid to peroxide 00:56
  5. 5 Mix and pour into glass rack 01:45
  6. 6 Incubate slides for one hour 02:05
Microscopy & Imaging Bio-protocol Video Citable · DOI

Chemically clean microscope slides with Piranha solution

DOI: 10.21769/BioProtoc.v480
Protocol
Difficulty
intermediate

Steps

1
Load slides into glass rack

Place the microscope slides into the glass rack. Five slides are loaded for cleaning.

▶ --:--
2
Calculate volumes for Piranha solution

Determine the correct proportions of hydrogen peroxide and sulfuric acid needed. The solution ratio is one-third peroxide to two-thirds sulfuric acid, based on the 60 milliliter capacity of the glass rack.

▶ 00:08
3
Pour hydrogen peroxide into container

Measure and add 20 milliliters of hydrogen peroxide to the container. This represents one-third of the total solution volume.

▶ 00:29
4
Slowly add sulfuric acid to peroxide

Carefully add 40 milliliters of sulfuric acid to the hydrogen peroxide in a slow manner. Always add acid to peroxide, never the reverse, as this is critical for safety.

▶ 00:56
5
Mix and pour into glass rack

Stir the Piranha solution mixture and then pour it very carefully into the glass rack containing the slides.

▶ 01:45
6
Incubate slides for one hour

Leave the slides in the Piranha solution for one hour to allow complete chemical cleaning of the glass surfaces.

▶ 02:05
💬 Comments coming soon