A perforated anodised aluminium slide for improved specimen clearing and imaging for confocal laser scanning microscopy

OBJECTIVE: The bleaching, clearing and handling of tiny specimens with soft tissue and cuticular components for confocal laser scanning microscopy is difficult, because after cuticle bleaching and tissue clearing the specimens are virtually invisible. We have adjusted the design of the specimen container described by Smolla et al. (Arthropod Struct Dev 43:175–81, 2014) to handle tiny specimens. RESULTS: We describe a perforated and anodised aluminium slide that was designed to hold the distal tips of the pedipalp appendages of the spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum during clearing, and that can then be used directly for confocal laser scanning microscopy. We believe that this slide design will be helpful for others who want to visualise specimens between 500 and 800 µm with confocal laser scanning microscopy.