Undergraduate Patch Clamp Labs on Single Ion Channel Electrophysiology in Cell Membranes

授予布朗大学的这笔资金将用于装备一门本科细胞生理学和生物物理学课程，以及两门本科独立研究和荣誉研究项目课程，配备膜片钳放大器、计算机接口和软件，用于对可兴奋细胞质膜中单个离子通道的电生理学进行实验。膜片钳记录是20世纪70年代末S和80年代初S发展起来的一项革命性的电生理技术，它将细胞电生理学提高到分子水平，正在迅速形成传统上截然不同的领域的重要新整合。这些资金将为8个工作站提供设备，最多可容纳32名学生成对工作，分时段进行，每期16名学生。主要费用是与8台现有计算机的接口、必要的计算机软件和5个贴片放大器，以补充已有的3台。学生将学习基本技术技能、典型离子通道的特征、根据可能的机制解释通道行为的理论原则，以及对通过这种方法已变得容易处理的重大生物学问题的认识。该项目还将使现有的教学设备从1960年代的S真空管技术大幅升级到实验室计算机时代。

This award to Brown University will provide funds to equip an undergraduate Cell Physiology and Biophysics course, and two undergraduate Independent Study and Honors research project courses, with patch clamp amplifiers, computer interfaces and software for experiments on the electrophysiology of single ion channels in the plasma membranes of excitable cells. Patch clamp recording is a revolutionary electrophysiological technique developed in the late 1970's and early 1980's. It has taken cellular electrophysiology to the molecular level, and is rapidly creating an important new integration of traditionally disparate fields. These funds will provide equipment for 8 workstations, accommodating up to 32 students working in pairs, in split sessions of 16 students each. The major expenses are for interfaces to 8 existing computers, the requisite computer software, and 5 patch amplifiers to supplement 3 already available. Students will learn basic technical skills, the characteristics of representative ion channels, theoretical principles of interpreting channel behavior in terms of likely mechanisms, and an appreciation of significant biological problems that have become tractable by this approach. This project would also significantly upgrade the current teaching equipment from 1960's vacuum tube technology to the lab computer era.