Gatan 914 High Tilt Cryo-Tomography Holder: TEM Holders: Equipment: Electron Microscopy Center: Indiana University

Gatan 914 High Tilt Cryo-Tomography Holder

Here are additional images of the Gatan 914 High Tilt Cryo-Tomography Holder.

Close-up view of the cryo-transfer station for the Gatan 914 cryo-holder. The station has not yet been cooled and the holder has not been inserted. The green dot signifies that it is safe to insert the holder into the transfer station (i.e., the pins that lift open the grid clamping mechanism are in their unextended position). If the dot is red and the holder is inserted, both the holder and the transfer station can be damaged.

Similar view to first image, but the Gatan 914 cryo-holder has been inserted. The tip of the holder is inserted from the right side of this image and the cryo-shield is in the closed state. The cryo-shield is visible at the tip of the arrow marking the holder.

This image was acquired looking more directly into the cryo-transfer station and shows the holder after retracting the cryo-shield. The dot is still green in this image, again indicating that the pins are not extended and that it is not yet possible to insert a grid into the holder. *(Note: Extending the pins while the cryo-shield is in position will damage both the cryo-shield and the transfer station)*

In this image, the grid loading mechanism has been switched into the open or loading position (signified by the red dot). A very subtle difference just above the thinnest part of the holder can be seen in this image: pins that force the spring clamps away from the rest of the holder have been extended, allowing a grid to be slipped into the holder. The next pair of images show this region more clearly.

A more extreme close-up view of the Gatan 914 holder with the holder in closed position, displaying a green dot.

A more extreme close-up view of the Gatan 914 holder with the holder in open position, displaying a red dot and raised spring clamps.

The images shown above were acquired without cooling the transfer station. If the transfer station had been cooled with liquid nitrogen, there would be a layer of liquid visible in all these images (in the silver-colored regions) and visibility would be somewhat less. Some users are able to load grids into this holder directly while others prefer to use a dissecting microscope. The EMC staff strongly recommends several "dry run" rounds of practice loading this holder before attempting to put a good grid (any sort of precious sample, a scientifically interesting grid, etc.) into the holder.

Gatan 914 High Tilt Cryo-Tomography Holder

Gatan 914 High Tilt Cryo-Tomography Holder

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