High-precision electrophysiological measurement system using multimodal sensing technique

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of capillary penetration on TEVC results by automating the capillary penetration process for oocyte using multiple sensors. The capillary insertion process with cell contact and penetration detection is realized using membrane potential measurement in electrophysiology experiments and image measurement by Optical Flow using patterns on the cell membrane as feature points. Using a sample of a plant stomatal potassium channel, KAT1 and a known inhibitor, we have evaluated the factors that significantly affect the experimental error of TEVC by mapping the capillary electrode puncture condition to the experimental conditions. The result clearly illustrated that the indentation depth of the glass electrode corresponds with the current leakage and the saturated value of the membrane current, which are the critical factors for the quantitative evaluation of the ion channel modulator.