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Study of Conformational Rearrangements of Ion Channels by Patch-Clamp Fluorometry Recording (CAT#: STEM-PET-0064-WXH)

Introduction

Conformational rearrangements are commonly observed in membrane proteins and constitute the molecular mechanisms through which they contribute to signal transduction. Information on structural changes in membrane proteins has mostly been inferred from functional studies.




Principle

The patch-clamp technique involves a glass micropipette forming a tight gigaohm seal with the cell membrane. The micropipette contains a wire bathed in an electrolytic solution to conduct ions. To measure single ion channels, a “patch” of membrane is pulled away from the cell after forming a gigaohm seal.

Applications

• Study of ionic currents in individual isolated living cells, tissue sections, or patches of cell membrane.
• Study of excitable cells such as neurons, cardiomyocytes, muscle fibers, and pancreatic beta cells.
• Study of ion channels.

Procedure

1. Fabrication of glass electrodes
2. Measuring glass electrode resistance and compensating offset potential
3. Glass electrode contact to cell membrane and obtain a GΩ seal
4. Acquire and analyse recordings using the appropriate software.

Materials

Patch clamp system
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