A new microchip amplifier for patch-clamp electrophysiology of neurons

12-03-2014

The patch-clamp technique is the gold standard for measuring electrical activity of individual channels and synapses in neurons. However, it is time consuming, labor intensive and requires very expensive and bulky equipment. In a recent paper published in the Journal of Neurophysiology, Dr. Alexander Chubykin contributed to the development and testing of a new patch-clamp amplifier microchip, which incorporates new nonlinear feedback elements in the amplifier circuit, thus eliminating the need for large and expensive resistors. This amplifier microchip can be used for both current and voltage clamp measurements in primary dissociated neurons and brain slices in vitro, and in brains of live animals in vivo. This innovation allows further miniaturization and scalability of patch-clamp hardware, and provides a lot of potential for development of new high-throughput methods of neuronal circuit mapping and drug discovery.

Harrison R.R., Kolb I., Kodandaramaiah S.B., Chubykin A.A., Yang A., Bear M.F., Boyden E.S., Forest C. Microchip amplifier for in vitro, in vivo, and automated whole-cell patch-clamp recording. Journal of Neurophysiology. 2014 Nov 26:jn.00629.2014. doi: 10.1152/jn.00629.2014. [Epub ahead of print]

Photo and article provided by Dr. Alexander Chubykin, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences.