Neuron-Microdevice Connections

膜片钳电极允许研究培养细胞中的单离子通道。虽然这项技术已被证明是一种强大的工具，但就目前使用的情况而言，它有几个缺点：一次只能研究一个细胞，细胞最终会因暴露于充满电极的高盐含量而“死亡”。这个研究项目包括用最先进的微芯片技术取代目前的移液管式膜片钳电极。

The patch clamp electrode has allowed the study of single ion channels in cells in culture. Although the technique has proven to be a powerful tool, as presently used, it has several drawbacks: Only one cell can be studied at a time and cells eventually "die" from exposure to the high salt content which fills the electrode. This research project involves replacing the present pipette-type of patch clamp electrode with one constructed using state-of-the-art microchip technology.