Characterization of a micromachined planar patch clamp for cellular electrophysiology

Author

Matthews, B. ; Judy, J.W.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng., Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

fYear

2003

fDate

20-22 March 2003

Firstpage

648

Lastpage

651

Abstract

We have fabricated planar patch-clamp substrates suitable for use in cellular electrophysiology. The substrates are a base component of a larger automated dose-response measurement system. Substrates with cell-patch-site apertures ranging from 0.5 μm to 11 μm were fabricated using standard MEMS techniques. The resistance of the cell-patch-site apertures and substrate capacitance were measured using impedance spectroscopy. The resistance of the cell-patch sites ranged from 0.2 MΩ to 47 MΩ for apertures ranging from 12 μm to 0.75 μm. The substrate capacitance was 17.2 pF per mm² of fluid contact area for substrates with a 2-μm thick layer of silicon dioxide. It was found that the electrical properties of the substrates are acceptable for use in electrophysiological applications.

Keywords

bioelectric phenomena; biological techniques; biomembrane transport; electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; microfluidics; micromachining; photolithography; substrates; 0.2 to 47 Mohm; 0.5 to 11 micron; MEMS techniques; automated dose-response measurement system; cell-patch-site apertures; cellular electrophysiology; cellular membrane conductance; equivalent-circuit model; impedance spectroscopy; ion channels; microfluidic manipulation; micromachined substrates; photolithography; planar patch-clamp substrates; two-mask process; Apertures; Biomembranes; Capacitance; Clamps; Electrical resistance measurement; Fabrication; Micromachining; Micromechanical devices; Optical microscopy; Seals;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Neural Engineering, 2003. Conference Proceedings. First International IEEE EMBS Conference on

Print_ISBN

0-7803-7579-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/CNE.2003.1196912

Filename

1196912