Making Dissection Probes
Materials:
- Long wooden q tips (at least 6 inches long)
- Water
- Minuten Pins, 0.15 mm diameter (BioQuip #1208SA)
- Loctite two part epoxy
- Forceps (#3)
- Scissors
- Parafilm
Directions:
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Cut off the cotton tips of the q tips so you are left with a long wooden dowel.
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Place the wooden dowels so that one end is immersed in water for at least 5 minutes.
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Cut the minuten pin in half, discarding the half that has two blunt ends.
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Use forceps to embed the other half of the minuten pin in the center of the damp end of a wooden dowel.
a. Make sure the pointed end of the pin is not the end that you embed in the dowel.
b. Push the pin down about ⅖ths the length of the pin. The length of the probe is generally a matter of personal preference. It is easier to bend and ruin longer probes, but they can be easier to manipulate. Remember when placing the pin that you will be covering a portion of it with epoxy, which will make the usable length shorter.
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Follow the directions of the two part epoxy to mix it together on a sheet of parafilm.
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Use another dowel to apply the epoxy around the base of the wooden dowel to secure the minuten pin.
a. Make sure the entire base of the dowel is covered.
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Leave probes to harden while sticking up in a tube rack overnight before storing them.
a. Be careful that they are not in a place where someone could injure themselves accidentally.