A New Microscopic Technique Of Whole Mounts In Bio-Plastics

It has been only a matter of a few years since the Introduction of Bio-Plastic as a method of mounting specimens for study and display, and this Introduction has been followed by an increasing demand for methods applicable to specimens or tissues which by virtue of their structure are best preserved in their normal opaque conditions. Research in this matter has been, and is being, conducted by the Ward Natural Science Establishment of Rochester,New York. As they say in their Service bulletin No.6, they were confronted by two problems; to discover a plastic material suitable for quantity production, and to provide a material that would possess sufficient clarity and durability. They finally decided that the methacrylates, although unsurpassed in clarity, were deficient in heat sensitivity,long cycles for curing, toxicity, and difficulty in production. And after much research, they devised the material which they called Ward\u27s Bio-Plastic. All the instructions used in applying this plastic in following thesis in contained in the above-mentioned Service buletin. The difficulties that they author of the thesis encountered are also mentioned with suggestions on how other students may avoid the disappointments