Ethanol is preferred as a storage medium in systematic collections as it preserves DNA well. Formaldehyde in any concentration more or less trashes DNA; fragments can be recovered, but it's really hard. If you are planning on donating specimens to a research institute or museum, most places prefer ethanol-preserved material.
Formalin, on the other hand, makes a nice chewy specimen for anatomical work. Ethanol tends to firm things up too much.
PC.
Paul Callomon
Collections Manager
Malacology, Invertebrate Paleontology and General Invertebrates
Department of Malacology
Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA
Tel 215-405-5096
Fax 215-299-1170
Secretary, American Malacological Society
On the web at http://erato.acnatsci.org/ams/
>>> [log in to unmask] 06/27/05 12:20PM >>>
I recall using ethanol to store specimens rather than formalin because
its much less toxic. Of course, it will also drain color over time. But
it should be readily and cheaply available =)
Cheers,
Nicholas Johnson
The University of Chicago
Committee on Evolutionary Biology
On Mon, 27 Jun 2005, James Cheshire wrote:
> Hey everyone,
> I'd like to ask if anyone knows where I can get formalin; I need it
> for fixing specimens of costoanachis.
>
> Thanks,
> James
>
> --
> James M. Cheshire (two h's in the surname, thank you)
> Granville, Ohio, USA; minimum winter temp. -10 F / -23 C
> ---------------------
> Oh, they say she died one winter, when there came a killing frost
>
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