AUTOMATED PATCH CLAMP QCHIPS

Giga-ohm performance and measurements QChips for Qube 384

Unique QChips with integrated and maintenance free electrodes for Qube 384

QChips are uniquely designed for use with Qube 384. The integrated flow channels and maintenance-free integrated electrodes provides a non-compromised test environment and ensures consistent quality recordings time after time.

With QChips, cells seal tightly onto planar surfaces performing true gigaseal, and liquids can be handled efficiently in 384-format microfluidic channels. Thereby, ensuring consistent and high-quality data recordings.

QChips offer:

  • Single- and multi-hole
  • Microflow-based to ensure 100% liquid exchange
  • 384 Integrated electrode pairs eliminate the risk of electrode drift and eliminate the need for electrode maintenance (re-chloridization)
  • Capable of long (> 1 hour) experiments with no electrode drift
  • Current clamp recordings, as well as voltage- and ligand-gated

Choose your QChip depending on your needs:

  1. QChip 384 –   single-hole per measurement site
  2. QChip 384X – 10-hole per measurement site
  3. QChip 384D – Varying number of holes per measurement site
  4. QChip 384C – Custom number of holes and hole sizes per measurement site

The QChip is ideal for compound characterization and primary screening of any ion channel, both ligand-gated and voltage-gated

QPlate and QChip 384 is the advanced microfluidic flow channels that lead compounds and buffers to the cell.

QPlates and QChips are both microflow-channel based (liquid displacement method), ensuring 100% compound exchange without risk of 'overshoot concentrations' that can happen using open well technology (liquid dilution method). Both QPlates and QChips has two embedded electrodes eliminating the risk of electrode drift and eliminates the need for maintenance (re-chloridization) that takes up precious instrument uptime.

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QChips are designed with microfluidic flow channels that deliver compounds and buffers to the intra- and extracellular part of the cell. This enables a series of liquid additions to be applied sequentially to the same cell, thus increasing throughput, and reducing cost per data point.

The microflow channel technology also means that compound trays are prepared in the correct concentrations and no dilution of compounds takes place (liquid displacement method). This has the advantage that no ‘overshoot’ concentrations will happen as can be seen using the open well technology (liquid dilution method). Using the dilution method an excess concentration of compounds is added to the wells since the compound will be diluted in the liquid already in the well.

QChips are available in both single- and multi-hole versions.

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  • "To speed up the process, we needed higher throughput and the ability to do more recordings at the same time. This was a key reason why we were so interested in a patch clamp robot."

    Angelika Lampert, University Professor, Principal investigator at Uniklinik RWTH Aachen

  • "Using a QPatch or Qube is fairly simple. You can train someone up very quickly, within half a day, to use the instrument. In a few more days, they can generate data, conduct analysis, use the software and plot their data. "

    Gary Clark, PhD, Metrion Biosciences, Director of Screening Technologies

  • "The idea is to have a workflow coming from an individual pain patient and to do basic research to understand the biophysical properties of this special variant. The Qube enhances our workflow."

    Ralf Hausmann, Professor, Co-Principal Investigator at Uniklinik RWTH Aachen

  • "For over a decade, we have used Sophion QPatch to support hit-to-lead and lead optimization, in addition to cardiac safety profiling. The addition of a QPatch II and a Qube 384 upgrades and extends our capacity for these efforts and now adds a Sophion platform for electrophysiology-based high-throughput screening. "

    Caterina Virginio, PhD, Evotec, Discovery Electrophysiology Senior Manager

  • "We use the Sophion Analyzer software every day to check the quality of our cells and the variability of the results. This is important to decide if further re-runs or adaptations are necessary."

    Simon Hebeisen, PhD, B’SYS GmbH, CSO

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