[3dem] damage after unloading and reloading grid

[Radecke, Julika (DLSLtd,RAL,LSCI)]

Hi David,

I don't know about your other images or the higher resolution comparison but the one you posted in this email does have the crack already in the left image, it can be traced all the way from the left side to the top right.
So in that case at least the chances of that crack expanding i.e. due to pressure or mechanical forces are pretty high. It could be handling before, during or after freezing, during clipping, loading, unloading or if it is 200 mesh grids they would be more fragile than 300 mesh for example.
Have you tried putting a few dummy grids without sample in/out/in at RT, followed by a test at cryo conditions maybe?

Best,
Julika

From: 3dem <3dem-bounces at ncmir.ucsd.edu> On Behalf Of Morgan, David Gene
Sent: 23 March 2023 16:56
To: 3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu
Subject: [3dem] damage after unloading and reloading grid

Hi,

We just noticed that when our Talos Arctica unloads and reloads a grid, significant damage (for example, the cracking of the carbon layer in a Quantifoil grid) can happen.  I have lots of examples of this that I can share if people are interested, but here is one comparison:

[cid:image001.png at 01D95E31.A510F260]

In the image above, it does not appear that there is any damage in the image on the left.  However, in other examples, there does appear to be (for example) a minor crack that becomes massive after reloading.

I cannot at this time estimate the amount of damage that might be "new" versus propagation of some sort of previous flaw, and it is entirely possible that much of what we see is propagation of existing flaws.  However, I can also say that we have at least one pair of higher resolution images that support the idea that such damage is not always simply a continuation of a prior problem.

Has anyone else seen this behavior, and if so, is there anything that can be done about it?  For example, is this a problem with the amount of force applied to the grids during the transfers, and if so, can this be adjusted in any way?

Thanks for any input you might have.

--
    politics is more difficult than physics.
                                             A. Einstein

            David Gene Morgan
        Electron Microscopy Center
             047E Simon Hall
             IU Bloomington
          812 856 1457 (office)
          812 856 3221 (3200)
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