Dear Users,

The WF2 will be out of order until further notice.

Attached you can see the reason why: massive corrosion at the bottom of the microscope.

This means that liquid went all the way from the objective, the filter turret and ended up on the slider. This is most likely not due to a single incident.

We are waiting to hear from Zeiss whether this can be repaired locally or whether the entire microscope has to be sent to Germany - which might not fall under our service warranty. To be seen…

>> All WF2 users, please contact us (film-service@imperial.ac.uk) so we can transfer you onto other machines.

Similarly on CF4, a Leica engineer had to clean a mirror under the objective turret as it was full of oil. Had it not been spotted, it could have led to some more damage similar to WF2.

In order to keep our microscopes functioning and our users happy, we need all of you to pay extra attention when handling liquids and oil:

-          Only put a small drop of oil on your coverslips, it is plenty.

-          remove the oil after you are done from all objectives where it was used and from your slide.

-          Be extra careful when handling liquids, plates or dishes with media, fluidics.

-          Always report a spill, as tiny as it might be – if unchecked some liquid can infiltrate the body of the microscope and lead to the corrorsion we saw on WF2.

-          When in doubt, ask us.

Do not hesitate to ask us if you are unsure.

Best wishes,

Debbi

Debora Keller, PhD

FILM - Facility for Imaging by Light Microscopy
- Facility Manager - Super-Resolution Specialist -
Sir Alexander Fleming Building, desk 408
Imperial College London / South Kensington
Exhibition Road
London SW7 2AZ, UK

Phone: +44 (0)207 594 2023
Mobile: + 44(0) 7760 256 889
E-mail:  d.keller@imperial.ac.uk
Website: http://imperial.ac.uk/imagingfacility