Enhancing ion channel research accessibility and productivity with automated electrophysiology

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

"Ion channels" are proteins present in the cell membrane of all cells. They permit and control the movement of ions such as sodium, potassium, calcium and chloride between the cell exterior and interior; such movement is key for maintenance of a healthy cell environment. Ion channels also underpin the generation of electrical activity in muscle, heart and nervous tissue. Ion channel dysfunction has been implicated in many pathologies, including cystic fibrosis, cardiac arrhythmias and nerve and muscle disorders. Ion channels are also targets of some clinically used drugs. They are both attractive targets for novel drug treatments and mediate unwanted "off-target" side effects of some treatments.For decades, the gold-standard approach to the study of ion channels in health and disease has involved recording their electrical activity using a specialist method called "patch-clamp". The traditional 'manual' patch-clamp method involves an experimenter making a single recording at a time, using a finely tapered glass recording 'electrode' applied to the surface of a single cell. This method is highly skilled and laborious. Consequently, extensive efforts have been made to simplify and automate the patch-clamp process. Methods have been developed that are suitable for use in an industrial setting for the screening of new drugs. However, large scale automated patch-clamp systems trade off ease of use and ability to make multiple measurements against recording quality; it is difficult for most systems to match the quality of data from manual patch-clamp. However, recently, a device has become available called the QPatch Compact. This is a bench-mounted, self-contained automated device that combines the advantages of automated patch-clamp with the ability to tightly control experimental conditions and recording quality similar to manual patch-clamp.The University of Bristol is a leading centre for research on ion channels from different body tissues. We seek a QPatch Compact automated patch-clamp system with two main objectives in mind. First, the system will accelerate ion channel research, facilitating the ability to interrogate ion channel (dys)function and drug effects (with 8-fold the throughput of manual recording). Second, because the device has been designed for use by those without specialist expertise, it will open ion channel research to a wider research constituency. Thus, the QPatch Compact will enable more extensive progress to be made in understanding normal and diseased ion channel function and the identification of novel therapeutic approaches that work through ion channel modulation.