QPatch Compact for low throughput drug discovery
When you need access to high-quality electrophysiology but without the throughput to justify an investment in ârealâ automated patch clamp
- QPatch technology â enables assay development for CRO outsourcing
- Facilitate rapid data generation for med chem projects
- 30-60 experiments a day
- Learn to operate in half an hour
- Performance similar to QPatch
Eight simultaneous experiments and automated analysis
Eight simultaneous experiments generate sufficient data to fuel even your most demanding chemist with data. The software helps you set up and analyze experiments. All you have to do is prepare the cells and handle the pipetting.
- Sufficient data, highly reproducible
- Automated analysis
- Objective replication
Entry model for automated patch clamp
Did you always dream of an automated patch clamp system but could not justify the investment? QPatch Compact is an affordable alternative to a higher throughput APC system with a price similar to a manual patch-clamp rig.
- Automated whole cells, giga-seals on demand
- Manual pipetting
- Automated analysis
Save compound without losing out on repetitions
Your chemist has struggled through multiple syntheses and multiple steps to obtain a few precious mg of a compound, and you know that much of it is required just to prime the perfusion apparatus on your manual patch-clamp rig. Then comes the constant flow required to obtain equilibrium in your perfusion bath, which can be exceptionally extended for low concentrations, wasting a lot of compound.
The QPlateâs microfluidic design only requires 5 ”L of compound per addition. The compound can be added multiple times to perform repetitions with minimal compound usage. You neednât worry about carry-over from yesterdayâs experiment since the QPlate is as fresh and clean as the day it was made.
- Minute compound usage
- Microflow channel-based compound control
- Integrated electrode pairs
Are you new to patch-clamp?
Hodgkin and Huxley described how the semi-permeable cell membrane could be permeated by specific ions and invented the concept of ion channels. Neher and Sakmann1 invented the patch-clamp technique to study these ion channels in fine detail. Both electrophysiology founders were awarded the Nobel Prize for their sophisticated work. Sophion will not be awarded the Nobel Prize, but we have created QPatch Compact to make it easy to generate the same high-quality data as our predecessors.
- Integrated system â much easier than a manual setup
- Learn patch-clamp in hours â manual patching takes months
- Up to 8 cells in parallel â fast track to publication
- Full analysis package built-in â donât lose track of data
- Support from Sophion â you are not alone
Planar patch clamp without Fluoride?
The QPlate is unique with its microflow-based design and silicon-coated lining, ensuring efficient compound exchange and gigaohm seals without using seal enhancers.
Seal enhancers are generally unwanted since they do not simulate physiological conditions and can create artefacts (Lei et al., 2021).
Some APC manufacturers rely on seal enhancers to achieve consistent gigaohm seal formation. We donât. Silicon surfaces in the QPlate promote high sealing and a low propensity to stick to compounds.
- Giga-⊠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
Only 2 ”L of liquid surrounding the cell is patched in a QPlate 8 recording plate. When the next liquid is introduced, the exchange wholly and quickly ensures precise control over the cellâs microenvironment. That is important for studying the ion channelâs 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.
- âConcentration-clampâ due to microfluidic channels
- No overshoot of concentration
- More control, less desensitization
- Fast exchange of liquid