Poseidon

Poseidon Liquid Flow TEM Holder

Poseidon™ allows scientists and engineers to image materials and biological samples in a self-contained and fully hydrated flowing and mixing chamber, directly within the TEM. Samples and processes that previously required freezing or could not be imaged in their native operating environment can now be studied and observed in liquid and at high resolutions. From hydrated materials such as inks and gels, to biological materials including whole cells, Poseidon allows you to quickly and easily load samples in a sealed environment and image within the TEM. 

Create a Fluid Environment

Poseidon products are compatible with a broad range of materials and biological samples. The Poseidon sample chamber can be configured for flow, mixing, or static operation simply by exchanging the Poseidon consumable E-chips.  The unique properties of these E-chips and the sample chamber design enable nanometer to atomic resolution imaging of specimens in dynamic liquid environments, bridging the gap between cryo-EM and light microscopy.
Poseidon can be used to flow a sample or solvent through the chamber using the 2-port system, or introduce additional reagents for mixing with the 3-port system. Researchers can dynamically modify the sample’s liquid environment during imaging with precise control of flow rates. The result is a unique ability to realize multiple sample environments and image mixing processes in real time.  Protochips has developed a wide variety of sample preparation techniques to enable the deposition or chemical attachment of particles or other materials directly on the E-chips.
The Poseidon platform is compatible with both TEM and STEM but in addition, is ideal for correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM) studies. The E-chip devices are compatible with standard tissue culture techniques, sterilization procedures, and surface modification chemistries.

Nanometer Resolution In A Liquid Flow Cell

Gold nanorod imaged in 150 nm of liquid using Protochips' Poseidon liquid in situ system.

(A) Gold nanorod

(B) Detail of the 200 lattice plane spacing

(C) FFT showing 2 angstrom resolution

Why Poseidon Is Quantifiably Better

Flexible

Poseidon enables samples to be imaged under native, hydrated conditions without modifying the user’s microscope. The user can configure the sample chamber to implement a static liquid cell or a dynamic, flowing environment on an experiment-by-experiment basis with a simple change of the E-chips.

Dynamic

With the ability to flow sample or solvent using a 2-port system and to introduce additional reagents with a 3-port system, Poseidon allows the user to dynamically modify the environment during imaging. Furthermore, through fine control of flow rates, the user can realize multiple sample environments or states across the window as mixing processes occur.

Correlative

Poseidon enables nanometer resolution imaging of specimens in dynamic liquid environments, bridging the gap between cryo-EM and light microscopy to add new data to your research. The transparency of the E-chip window is ideal for correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM) studies. The E-chip devices are compatible with standard tissue culture techniques, sterilization procedures, and surface modification chemistries.

Efficient

Poseidon does not require the sample to be dried or frozen prior to imaging, thus preparation time is reduced and drying artifacts are avoided. Longer sample imaging time, relative to cryo, is also typically observed, enabling more data to be extracted from a single sample. The reduced sample preparation, increased imaging time, and multi-discipline utility makes Poseidon a cost-effective solution for both core facilities and end users.

Comprehensive

The Poseidon platform comes complete with all the components and support necessary for successful in situ experiments.

Applications

Poseidon is the appropriate solution for biological and materials sciences applications:

• Live Cell Imaging 
• Correlative Microscopy 
• Endocytosis 
• Toxicology 
• Mixing 
• Gels & hydrated samples 
• Nanoparticles
• Batteries 
• Dispersions 
• Dehydration