The Ultimate Guide to Microscope Slides

Are you familiar with microscope slides, but find the terminology, features, and extensive options overwhelming when it comes to making a selection?

We are going to break down the difference between each slide type to help you identify which type is best suited for your application.

A plain slide is the most basic type of slide available. It is made of glass and measures 3” by 1” (75mm by 25mm) and is approximately 1 mm thick. On wet slides, a cover slip (an even smaller, thinner piece of glass) is used to secure the object under observation to the slide. The sample, fixed between the microscope slide and cover glass, is then placed into the microscope for examination. 

A frosted slide is a slide that has been grinded or chemically etched to create microgrooves which elevate bond strength. While these microgrooves can help ensure a solid attachment of the specimen to the slide for certain applications, the most common benefit of frosted slides is that they are easy to write on making them simple to categorize and keep organized. You can find slides that are frosted on one side, both sides, ends only, and everything in between.

A beveled slide refers to the edges of the sides of the slide. Rather than having the sides perfectly perpendicular to the surface, they are angled at 45° to reduce the number of sharp edges and provide a secure grasp. While these slides are perfect for performing blood smears, they may not be compatible with automatic cover slip machines.

45° clipped slide simply means that rather than having a sharp 90° corner, the corner is clipped to create a 45° angle to ensure easy handling and decrease the chance of finger injury. Slides can also come with “slightly clipped’ or “ground” corners to reduce injury.

Positively charged slides refers to slides that were coated with positively charged compounds. Positively charged slides make adhesion easy by taking advantage of the fact that most cell membranes are negatively charged. This electrostatic attraction prevents sample loss by ensuring the specimen does not slip or detach, a common issue for slides that need further processing. Buying slides which are positively charged also removes the need to coat them manually saving you hours of slide preparation.

Stained slides are not a type of slide but refers to the process of adding a dye to slides to enhance the visualization of the sample under a microscope. By using different stains, slide users can selectively enhance different parts of the sample that may have been colourless otherwise. The process involves adding the dye at one end of the cover slide and drawing the stain across the sample to the other side of the cover slide using an absorbent paper or a slide staining kit.

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