Cell Excitability Measurement

Creative Bioarray is committed to providing our clients with cellular excitability measurements through whole-cell patch-clamp recordings, an electrophysiological technique capable of measuring action potentials. Our professional scientific services will make an important contribution to your cellular electrophysiological research.

Background

The relationship between organism and environment is not only reflected in material and energy metabolism, but also in the change of organism activities when environmental conditions change, thus allowing organisms actively adapt to the environment and survive. Excitability refers to the ability or characteristic of excitable tissue or cell to produce an excitatory response (action potential) when stimulated. Nerve cells, myocytes, and some glandular cells, which are capable of generating potentials, are often referred to in physiology as excitable cells.

The development of patch-clamp electrophysiology has facilitated the research of the electrical properties of excitable cells and ion channels. The patch-clamp technique is a microelectrode technique that uses a method of clamping voltage or current to record the electrical activity of ion channels on biological membranes. This technique can be used to record the activity of individual channels or to monitor the activity of all channels expressed in the investigated cell. In particular, when combined with pharmacology, this technology can accelerate the study of ion channels related to drug action.

Fig. 1 Diagram of gating transitions of a voltage-dependent ion channel. (Karmažínová, 2010)

Our Services

Researchers at Creative Bioarray have developed a well-established electrophysiological platform and have successfully applied patch-clamp techniques to measure ion flow induced by the activity of various ion transporting proteins, including voltage-operated ion channels, ligand-operated ion channels, and electrogenic ion exchangers. Our cell excitability measurement services are applicable to many cell types. Our services include but are not limited to:

• Monitoring the activity of voltage-dependent channels including calcium, potassium, sodium, and chloride channels by whole-cell patch-clamp.
• Measurement of individual ion currents in freshly isolated cells and recombinant ion channels.
• Measurement of voltage-dependent channel gating, such as T-type calcium channel. We provide the measurement of channel activation, deactivation, and inactivation on specific channels expressed in cells.
• Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings on neurons in various types of preparations, such as isolated neurons, neurons in brain slices, cell culture models, and intact anesthetized or awake animals.

Applications

• Study on myocardial ion channels related to drug action
• Study on the physiological and pathological mechanisms of ion channels
• Study on the mechanism of drug action
• Research on cardiovascular pharmacology
• Research on neuroscience

Creative Bioarray has extensive experience in providing customers with a wide range of ion channel-related services, such as cell excitability measurements and studies. We are committed to developing a wide range of patch-clamp systems to accelerate the rapid high-throughput screening of new pharmacological substances and analysis of drug delivery mechanisms. If you are interested in our services, please contact us for more details.

Reference

1. Karmažínová, M.; Lacinová, Ľ. Measurement of cellular excitability by whole cell patch clamp. Physiol. Res, 2010, 59(1): S1-S7.