xEM Read Issues

I know this style of thread has been posted a number of times however I am facing a slightly different problem.

I received my xEM kit from an Australian distributor and simply cannot read from the tag no matter the orientation. I’m looking to purchase a selection of antennas and potentially design one specifically for my tag however I cant tell if the tag is dead on arrival or if its the limitation of the stock antenna that came with my Proxmark 3.

My questions are:
a) Should I inject the tag anyway as it may be a limitation of the tag interfering with the metallic syringe.
b) What is the most fool proof way of determining if the tag is DOA.
c) What should I do before I contaminate the (~$100AUD after shipping) tag and render it non-injectable.
d) Other than the advertised cylindrical antenna has anyone suggested alternative antennas.

Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Most likely the metal injector it causing the issues reading the chip

Looks like Im making progress.

I Ejected the chip still in the sterile bag and after 10 minutes of tweaking I finally got the following response:

proxmark3> lf t55xx detect
Could not detect modulation automatically. Try setting it manually with ‘lf t55xx config’
proxmark3> lf t55xx detect
Could not detect modulation automatically. Try setting it manually with ‘lf t55xx config’
proxmark3> lf t55xx detect
Could not detect modulation automatically. Try setting it manually with ‘lf t55xx config’
proxmark3> lf t55xx detect
Could not detect modulation automatically. Try setting it manually with ‘lf t55xx config’
proxmark3> lf t55xx detect
Could not detect modulation automatically. Try setting it manually with ‘lf t55xx config’
proxmark3> lf t55xx detect
Chip Type : T55x7
Modulation : DIRECT/NRZ
Bit Rate : 2 - RF/32
Inverted : No
Offset : 42
Seq. Term. : No
Block0 : 0x00080000