Home > Nanotechnology Columns > Park Systems > Targeted Patch Clamping by Ion Conductance Microscopy
Targeted patch clamping (TPC) combines patch clamping with ion conductance microscopy (ICM) to guide the pipette to a specific patch clamping position.
May 7th, 2012
Targeted Patch Clamping by Ion Conductance Microscopy
Targeted patch clamping (TPC) combines patch clamping with ion conductance microscopy (ICM) to guide the pipette to a specific patch clamping position. Patch clamping is vital to the study of excitable cells such as neurons, cardiomyocites, and muscle fiber in electrophysiology because the technique allows the researcher to examine single or multiple ion channels in those cells. But patch clamping cannot be applied to small cells or submicron-size structures on the cell surface, due to the resolution limit of the incorporated optical microscope, which is used to maneuver the patch clamp's pipette near the cell surface. Because ICM can identify the cell surface at the submicron scale using the same patch clamping pipette, TPC overcomes the optical resolution hurdle, and greatly improves the applicability of the patch clamp and its accuracy beyond the classical technique. In this paper, live rat ventricular cardiomyocyte cells were examined with targeted patch clamping using a Park ICM. Ion channel signals were successfully recorded at a chosen Z groove location on the ventricular cardiomyocyte.
Click here to see the full application note [