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Exhibitor Presentations
Rooms 505, 513, Los Angeles Convention Center
Room 505: Sunday, February 28
5:30 pm–7:00 pm
HEKA Elektronic + Multi Channel Systems
PATCHMASTER and PatchServer: Solutions for Patch Clamp
Presentation 1: Combined Patch Clamp and Imaging with PATCHMASTER
and SmartLUX
SmartLUX is the new imaging extension for PATCHMASTER software
synchronizing image acquisition and patch clamp data recordings. Image
based data such as fluorescence intensities form ROIs that are stored as
traces together with current and voltage traces in the PATCHMASTER
data file. A link between data points of the trace and the images enables
convenient automatic display of the corresponding images when replay-
ing the patch clamp data.
Presenation 2: Multi-Patch Experiments with EPC 10 Quadro and
PATCHMASTER
PATCHMASTER software allows the user to control up to 8 patch clamp
amplifiers (2 x EPC 10 USB Quardo) in parallel, making it an ideal platform
for either conventional multi-patch experiments or automated patch
clamping. The Multi-Cell extension of PATCHMASTER allows easy setup
and execution of acquisition sequences and analysis methods for operat-
ing all amplifiers in parallel. Conventional patch clamping with multiple
electrodes can be facilitated by automating processes using the Protocol
Editor.
Presentation 3: PatchServer: A Pipette-Based Automatic Patch Clamp
System
PatchServer is Multi Channel Systems’ new automated patch-clamp sys-
tem that adds on to a manual patch-clamp setup. It is able to establish
single-channel and whole-cell recording configurations using standard
glass electrodes. The automation includes sealing on suspended cells,
establishing recording configurations, and moving to application bays
for solution exchange – all under visual control. PatchServer comes in a
one channel version for performing single experiments, as well as a four
channel version for recording from four cells in parallel using the EPC 10
Quadro from HEKA. A piezo-driven ultra-fast solution exchanger (UFA
tool) is available as an option and can be easily integrated.
Speakers
Christian Heinemann, Head of Engineering at HEKA Elektronik
Juergen Rettinger, Product Manager – Ion Channel Product Line at Multi
Channel Systems
Room 505: Monday, February 29
9:30 am–11:00 am
Sophion together with Biolin Scientific
Pioneering Ion Channels - Expanding the Boundaries of
Automated Patch Clamp
Recent advances in automated patch clamp for voltage and ligand
gated ion channels with emphasis on NMDA, cardiac safety and induced
pluripotent stem cells
Speakers
Timm Danker, NMI, Germany
Automated Patch Clamp on Crdiac Ion Channels and Multiwell MEA
Recordings on Human iPSC-derived Cardiomyocytes: a Complementary
Approach for Predictable Proarhytmia Assessments
Caterina Virginio, Aptuit
NMDA Receptors: Meaningful Biophysical and Pharmacological Studies to
Redefine Ligands Properties
Denise Franz, University of Rostock, Germany
Electrophysiological Characterization of Human Induced Ppluripotent
Stem Cell-derived Dopaminergic Neurons on the QPatch
11:30 am–1:00 pm
Asylum Research, an Oxford Instruments
Company
Soft, Sticky, and Viscous: Practical Considerations for
Measuring Cell Mechanics with AFM
The atomic force microscope (AFM) has found broad use in the investiga-
tion of cell mechanics, with numerous studies of cell stiffness and modu-
lus dating back over a decade. Because AFM can quantitatively measure
the mechanical properties of individual live cells, novel insights to cell
function and to cell-substrate interactions have been realized. This is per-
tinent for cell biology, as it has been demonstrated that the geometrical
and mechanical properties of the extracellular microenvironment are
important in such processes as cancer, cardiovascular disease, muscular
dystrophy, and even the control of cell life and death. Indeed, the abil-
ity to control and quantify these external geometrical and mechanical
parameters now arises as a key issue in the field and AFM seems poised
to play a prominent role in building that understanding.
The use of AFM in this field presents unique challenges and opportuni-
ties. Some of the most important considerations are because many of the
AFM techniques used here have largely been borrowed from those first
developed for materials science. This is simultaneously a success of inter-
disciplinary research and an opportunity to further tailor measurements
to cells and biological materials, which have some fundamentally differ-
ent characteristics compared to polymers. Most dramatically, cells are far
“softer” than polymers, usually at least 100× lower in modulus than even
soft rubbers and easily 10,000× lower in modulus than some common
plastics. Further, cells are usually quite “sticky,” leading to large adhesion
to the AFM tip that can complicate measurements. Finally, cells are often
strongly viscoelastic, exhibiting not just elastic deformation described
by the elastic modulus but also a viscous response that depends on