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Emerging Techniques for Ion Channel Studies
Ion Channels and Education Track

Ion channels, integral membrane proteins present in literally all cells, play diverse physiological functions including regulation of membrane excitability, endocrine and exocrine secretion, cell volume regulation, and gene expression. Because of a high throughput rate of ion transport through an ion channel, real-time recordings of ion channel function with the revolutionary patch-clamp technique have been possible. This breakthrough in technology has advanced our understandings of how ion channels function and paved the way for new development of drug interventions in human diseases. Although patch-clamp recordings provide the most sensitive method for single-molecule functional assay, the technical demands and labor-intensive nature of the patch-clamp technique have limited its application mostly to the arena of basic research. However, recent development in employing silicon chip technologies to the electrophysiological platform has realized the fantasy of “patch-clamp lab on the chip”. Not only does this revolutionary development allow multiple, simultaneous electrophysiological experiments, this technology itself also opens a new direction of basic research. One of the goals of the proposed workshop is to cover this exciting new area. Speakers will discuss the design, challenges and applications of this emerging technology. Another subject for the proposed workshop is coupling of electrophysiological and imaging techniques. We will focus on developments related to optical techniques using total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy to obtain simultaneous and independent recordings from numerous ion channels via imaging of single-channel calcium flux and Fluorescent Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) methodologies for channel gating studies. This workshop on the emerging new technologies for ion channel studies is timely and should appeal to a broad audience who currently use patch-clamp and/or optical methods separately to study ion channel function.