Protochips to Lead Poseidon™ Seminar at Harvard University

Raleigh, NC, November 16, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Protochips (http://www.protochips.com), a company specializing in revolutionary products for in situ electron microscopy, today announced a seminar to be held at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering titled: Studying Hydrated Specimens In Situ Using Electron Microscopy. This seminar is open worldwide regardless of affiliation.

Conventional sample processing techniques, such as staining, drying, sectioning, or freezing often introduce preparation artifacts that obscure the interpretation of electron micrographs. With the development of liquid holders for TEM, electron microscopy of fully hydrated specimens is becoming more accessible and is proving to be a technique that eliminates these preparation artifacts while providing nanometer resolution of specimens in their native state. In a liquid cell system, the sample is maintained between a pair of sample support devices each with an ultra thin, electron-transparent silicon nitride membrane -- these sample supports create a liquid compartment or flow channel at the tip of the TEM holder. Different experiments often require optimization of the flow channel, and in a liquid cell system such as the one developed by Protochips, the important parameters such as channel size and volume can be varied by selecting the correct pair of sample support devices. By maintaining the sample in its native, hydrated state, liquid cell EM enables imaging of dynamic processes such as nanoparticle growth and interactions, providing highly valuable correlative data to complement existing microscopy techniques.

Poseidon™ is the solution for direct in situ imaging in liquid environments. Applications include catalysts, metal nanoparticles, batteries, dispersions, gels, and living cells. The Poseidon™ utilizes E-Chips™ that function as durable cells with amorphous windows for visualization with minimum beam scatter. The Poseidon™ TEM holder provides a constant flow of liquid as well as allowing for the mixing of reagents. A variety of window sizes and liquid layer thicknesses are available, making E-Chips™ highly customizable. Researchers can manipulate the experiment on a per-experiment basis. Volume and flow path can be adjusted to address the needs of a particular experiment and sample. By allowing users to configure Poseidon™ through their choice of E-Chips™, the highest resolutions in liquid are possible, with nanoscale resolution through several microns of liquid. Poseidon™ is a self-contained TEM holder with external components that does not require any modification to existing TEMs.

Protochips, located in Raleigh, NC, is a company providing revolutionary products and technologies for the in situ electron microscopy market for more than eight years. Through their innovative E-Chip™ consumable technology, Protochips is fundamentally changing the way in situ microscopy is performed. The E-Chip™ platform is the engine that drives Protochips Aduro™ and Poseidon™ in situ solution, providing temperature and electrical in situ capabilities and the Poseidon™ for liquid in situ capabilities. More information can be found at http://www.protochips.com.

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