A CMOS instrumentation amplifier microchip for patch-clamp experiments in biological cells

We describe the development of a unique, high-performance, CMOS amplifier microchip for patch clamp experiments in biological cells. Understanding single ion channel behavior is crucial for the development of pharmaceutical drugs and their interactions with biomolecular species. The microchip amplifies transient pA currents to volts (i.e. a transimpedance amplifier of more than 100 GOmega) and is part of our overall program to develop an integrated patch-clamp system for both single ion channel characterization and whole cell characterization. The chip requires less than 100 times 100 sq. mils, operates from plusmn5 V and can faithfully reproduce transient ion channel pulses in the picoampere range. An overview of the design, simulation, fabrication, and test results if our integrated signal processing system is presented.