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Leica CM3600 XP
Operating the Leica CM3600 XP
7
Warning
•
Wear safety gloves.
•
Never try to catch or grab the knife.
•
Never put your hands into the space between specimen and knife.
Proceed as follows:
•
Select manual operating mode and adjust the desired section thickness.
•
Activate the section documentation function.
•
Use the knee lever to move the sledge to the right-side reversal position (left edge of the specimen
block just about clears the knife).
•
Cut the specimen and clean the specimen surface with a brush.
•
Cut off a desired length from the tape roll. The width of the tape should not be larger than the
specimen block; the length should be long enough to easily hold the tape with your left hand while
sectioning and to attach the completed section to a dehydration frame.
•
If the tape has been kept outside the cryochamber, let the tape length rest a few seconds inside the
cryochamber before attaching it to the specimen block, this will ensure that there is no temperature
difference between the tape and specimen block.
•
Use the pressure plate to aid in pressing the tape onto the block surface.
• Fix the tape first in the middle and then press out to both ends. This method prevents air bubbles from
being trapped between tape and block surface.
• Now fix the tape in place with a cooled brush, paper towel or cotton wadding. Never touch the
specimen block face with your hands.
•
Hold the left end of the tape in your left hand. Drive the microtome gently until some of the embedding
medium is apparent on the left edge of the tape.
•
Use the pressure plate to aid in pressing the tape onto the block surface. To do this, press the pressure
plate firmly on the block close to the knife blade.
•
Shift the knee lever to start sectioning; keep the pressure plate pressed on the specimen block.
•
Carefully guide the tape to the upper left (away from the specimen) – do not pull tightly!
•
Completely remove the section and stop the sledge behind the knife. Be sure to leave the section in the
cryochamber. It must not be exposed to room temperature.
•
Check the section.
•
Add the section data to the documentation.
Section removal
•
Fasten the section to a dehydration frame that has been stored in the cryochamber.
•
To speed up the dehydration process after completing the section removal, the automatic or manual
dehydration of the instrument can be used.
7.9 Dehydrating the sections
To be able to store the sections or use them otherwise outside the cryochamber, they must be properly
dehydrated. For this purpose, the instrument has a programmable and a manual dehydration function.
During dehydration, the fan speed is increased, thus speeding up the removal of moisturesaturated cold
air. The moisture is separated at the evaporator.
