The traditional manual method to patch clamp using glass pipettes was developed by Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann and required a highly skilled technician. The technician would position the glass pipette near a cell and apply the appropriate suction to create an electrical seal between the pipette and the cell membrane. The process, also known as the Gold Standard, is considered one of the most effective way to study ion channel currents.
Where manual patch clamp relies on moving a glass pipette to a resting cell, automated patch clamp depends on moving the cells to a fixed trapping junction.
Fluxion pioneered the lateral trapping technology pictured to the right, where lateral channels replace the glass pipette. Cell suspension flows past these channels, and suction is used to trap the cells. Configurations include tradition single cell "GigaOhm" recording as well as "ensemble" (grouped) recording. Additional lateral channels are added upstream of the patched cells for automated delivery of compound and wash solutions.
IonFlux systems utilize SBS standard 96 or 384 well plates with unique custom microfluidics structures. Cells and solutions are driven using a touchless pneumatic pump, with cell trapping at side channels using the traditional manual patch suction technique. This approach eliminates the need for large liquid handlers to move solutions during an experiment. This unique approach delivers millisecond solution exchange and continuous flow for compound washout.
With a simple plate reader design, IonFlux technology make patch clamp recordings accessible and easy, requiring no more than pipetting skills or any liquid handler to run a full assay. Before an experiment, different solutions are inserted into specific wells on the plate. All solution movement is pneumatically driven within the plate.
Cells are trapped in a continuous flow environment. Cells can be patched in either ensemble (20 cells) or single-cell modes. High quality gigaohm seals are achieved for the best recording quality. Experiments are short and consistent, allowing for a high number of data points.
Solutions are programmed to flow sequentially, separated by complete washing with extra-cellular solution. The rapid continuous flow delivers fast solution exchange and facilitates otherwise unachievable ligand-gated and voltage-gated assays.
IonFlux Application Areas
Due to its unique liquid exchange system, IonFlux is the ideal platform for ligand binding, allosteric modulation, multiple agonists, and voltage- and temperature-sensitive assays. It is used in laboratories and research centers worldwide for various voltage gated and ligand gated ion channels assays.
Recent Research with IonFlux: NMDAR & Schizophrenia
Glycine transporters (GlyT1 and GlyT2) are essential targets for the therapy of brain illnesses with decreased NMDAR function, such as schizophrenia. Other amino acid transporters produced in the brain may be able to modulate brain glycine levels and NMDAR activity, although this remains unknown. SLC6A20A, an amino acid transporter known to transport proline in vitro but understudied in the brain, modulates proline and glycine levels as well as NMDAR function in the mouse brain. READ MORE
See What IonFlux Mercury can do for you
IonFlux Mercury is a next-generation APC family of system designed with unique in-plate fast solutions exchange and continuous flow. With simplified integrated operation and a plate reader design, IonFlux Mercury can fit into the smallest laboratory to the largest screening facility.
