Automated Patch Clamp Shared Instrumentation

描述（由申请人提供）：电信号是从细菌到脊椎动物神经元的细胞的几乎普遍存在的性质。神经、肌肉、内分泌、外分泌、上皮和淋巴细胞中的细胞调节依赖于由离子通道介导的电信号，并且许多疾病是由离子通道的功能障碍或失调引起的。Neher、Sakmann和他们的同事发明了膜片钳方法，使电生理学研究发生了革命性的变化，他们因此获得了1991年的诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。正如最初开发的那样，这种方法允许使用微电极记录单个细胞或单个膜片中的电信号。现代电生理学完全依赖于膜片钳方法，但它非常慢，并且对实验期间可以进行的实验操作的数量和类型有严格的限制。用于自动膜片钳记录的仪器已经开发了几年，现在已经达到了尖端离子通道研究所需的高水平的复杂性，技术能力和灵活性。我们正在申请Nanion Patchliner NPC-16自动膜片钳系统，该系统能够同时对多个单细胞进行常规细胞外和细胞内微流体灌注，以自动模式记录多达48个细胞，并在高温下记录。该仪器大大扩展了使用标准膜片钳技术可以完成的工作，大大加快了数据收集和分析的过程，并大大降低了试剂成本。这种新仪器将加强一组领先的离子通道研究人员的基础研究工作，并将有助于进一步了解离子通道在健康和疾病中的功能。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Electrical signaling is a nearly ubiquitous property of cells ranging from bacteria to vertebrate neurons. Cellular regulation in nerve, muscle, endocrine, exocrine, epithelial, and lymphatic cells depends on electrical signaling mediated by ion channels, and many diseases are caused by dysfunction or misregulation of ion channels. Electrophysiological studies were revolutionized by the invention of the patch clamp method by Neher, Sakmann and their colleagues, for which they received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1991. As originally developed, this method allows the recording of electrical signals in single cells or single patches of membrane using microelectrodes. Modern electrophysiology is entirely dependent on the patch voltage clamp method, but it is very slow and places severe restrictions on the number and type of experimental manipulations that can be performed during an experiment. Instruments for automated patch clamp recording have been in development for several years, and now have reached the high level of sophistication, technical capability, and flexibility that are required for cutting-edge research on ion channels. We are requesting a Nanion Patchliner NPC-16 automated patch clamp system, which is capable of routine extracellular and intracellular microfluidic perfusion of multiple single cells simultaneously, recoring from up to 48 cells in automated mode, and recording at elevated temperatures. This instrument substantially extends what can be accomplished using the standard patch clamp technique, greatly speeds the process of data collection and analysis, and greatly reduces reagent costs. This new instrument will enhance the basic research efforts of a group of leading ion channel researchers and will contribute to further understanding of ion channel function in health and disease.