From manual patching to QPatch Compact

QPatch Compact is a ready-to-use alternative and supplement to manual patch clamp.

Faster data generation
Independent of user skills
Learn to operate in a few hours
Objective selection of cells

Tamper-free and ready when you are

You probably know the feeling that you don’t want anybody to tamper with your manual rig once it is ‘just right’ and free of noise. Right? QPatch Compact is developed to combine the flexibility of manual patch clamping with the robustness, ease, and simplicity of automated patch clamp.

No electrical grounding issues
No micromanipulator drift
No need for an electrode puller – always ready to use
No antivibration table
No noise from unidentified, errant sources
No compound carry-over in silicon tubing

Eight simultaneous experiments and automated analysis

Initially, you will probably conduct one experiment at a time, but you can execute up to 8 experiments simultaneously with a bit of training. This generates data faster en route to your next Nature publication.

The software helps you set up and analyze experiments. All you have to do is prepare the cells and handle the pipetting of solutions, guided by the instrument. That way, you can learn about ion channels and their biophysics without losing valuable time to technological barriers.

More data, faster
Automated analysis
Objective replication

Did you ever hunt noise in your rig?

We have all worked with manual patch-clamp and felt the kick when getting good seals and crisp, noise-free recordings, but we have also had days where annoying noise kept interfering no matter how much tinfoil you wrapped around the tubes or how many spots on your microscope you grounded.

Imagine a benchtop instrument that you simply plug in and conduct your experiments without needing an antivibration table or Faraday cage.

Stable recordings
Integrated system
Small footprint
Giga-seal on demand

Planar patch clamp without Fluoride?

The QPlate^® is unique with the microflow-based design and QPlate 8 & 8X silicon-coated lining that ensures efficient compound exchange and gigaohm seals without using seal enhancers.

Some APC manufacturers rely on seal enhancers to achieve consistent gigaohm seal formation. We don’t. Silicon surfaces in the QPlate promote both high sealing and a low propensity to stick to compounds.

Giga-Ω seals in physiological solutions
Microfluidic channels for precise liquid handling
Minute compound quantities required
Ready-to-use, individual, built-in electrode pairs

Precise concentration at the cell

There is only 2 µL of liquid surrounding the cell patched in a QPlate 8 recording plate. When the next liquid is introduced, the exchange happens wholly and quickly to ensure precise control over the cell’s micro-environment. This is important for studying the ion channel’s kinetics and preventing desensitization due to over-exposure to higher-than-wanted concentrations. The latter will happen in an open-well architecture where you rely on an in-well dilution to occur in an uncontrolled manner.

“Concentration-clamp” due to microfluidic channels
No overshoot of concentration
More control, less desensitization
Fast exchange of liquid