PatchClampElektrophysiologie

Patch clamp is a family of electrophysiological techniques that allow the study of ionic currents through individual ion channels in cells. By isolating a small patch of the cell membrane with a glass micropipette, researchers can measure currents with high resolution and low noise.

In conventional whole-cell patch clamp, a tight seal (gigaseal) is formed between the pipette tip and the cell membrane, and the membrane under the seal is ruptured to gain access to the cell interior. Other configurations include cell-attached, inside-out, and outside-out patches, each providing different readouts of channel behavior.

The technique relies on low-noise patch-clamp amplifiers, precision micropositioners, and vibration-damped environments. Data are collected via a digitizer and analyzed with specialized software to quantify conductance, current-voltage relationships, and channel kinetics. Patch clamp has been extended to automated high-throughput systems and to recordings from a wide range of cells, including neurons, cardiac myocytes, and heterologous expression systems.

Applications span basic physiology, pharmacology, and drug discovery. Patch clamp enables characterization of ion channel properties, receptor-mediated currents, and synaptic events with millisecond or faster temporal resolution. Limitations include technical skill requirements, access resistance, seal stability, and potential dialysis of intracellular components in whole-cell mode. Variants such as perforated patch preserve intracellular constituents.

Notes: The requested term "PatchClampElek..." appears to be truncated. If referring to specific devices or components—such as patch pipettes, electrodes, or patch-clamp amplifiers—these are integral to the setup but require clarification to define precisely.