APES treatment of slides

Contributed by Matt Lewis <hop2kin@yahoo.co.uk>

This is an alternative to poly-L-lysine treatment. The APES coating makes the slides more adhesive for fixed tissue and living cells.

  • Prepare 1% acid alcohol with [1% (v/v) concentrated HCl, 70% Ethanol, 29% H2O]
  • Immerse slide in 1% acid/alcohol for 30 mins to clean the slides.
  • Rinse in running water, then immerse in distilled water, then remove and allow to dry.
  • Immerse slide in acetone for 10 minutes
  • Immerse in [2%(v/v) APES in acetone] for 5 minutes. APES is aminopropyltriethoxysilane (Sigma A3648)
  • Immerse briefly in 2 sequential rinses of distilled H2O
  • Allow to dry and store in a dust-free container. Slides will keep well for months but not years.

This method is based, with permission, on an original protocol available here.