Recording Pipette
Recording Pipette - Related Videos
05:12
Pressure-polishing Pipettes for Improved Patch-clamp Recording
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Cited by 13 •
2008
This is a guide to modifying the shape of glass micropipettes. Specifically, by using heat and air pressure the taper is widened without increasing the tip opening, leading to lower pipette resistance. This is critical to obtain low noise recordings of small cells but is useful in many applications.
08:08
Odorant-induced Responses Recorded from Olfactory Receptor Neurons using the Suction Pipette Technique
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Cited by 13 •
2012
Olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) convert odor signals first into a receptor current that in turn triggers action potentials that are conveyed to second order neurons in the olfactory bulb. Here we describe the suction pipette technique to record simultaneously the odorant-induced receptor current and action potentials from mouse ORNs.
05:30
Making Patch-pipettes and Sharp Electrodes with a Programmable Puller
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Cited by 22 •
2008
This video shows how to use a programmable puller to make patch pipettes and sharp electrodes for electrophysiology. The same procedure can be used to make a variety of glass tools, including injection needles.
06:35
Introduction to Serological Pipettes and Pipettors
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2023
The serological pipette is frequently used in the laboratory for transferring milliliter volumes of liquid, from less than 1 ml to up to 50 ml. The pipettes can be sterile, plastic, and disposable or sterilizable, glass and reusable. Both kinds of pipettes use a pipet-aid, for the aspiration and dispensation of liquids. Different sizes of pipettes can be used with the same pipet-aid for a variety of experimental assays. For example, serological pipettes are useful for mixing chemical solutions...
11:43
Aseptic Laboratory Techniques: Volume Transfers with Serological Pipettes and Micropipettors
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Cited by 24 •
2012
When working in a laboratory, it is imperative to minimize sources of contamination. Aseptic technique refers to procedures that permit transfer of cultures and reagents while avoiding contact with non-sterile surfaces. Serological pipettes and micropipettors are used to measure precise volumes without compromising sterility of solutions used in experiments.
FAQs
The narrow tip creates the electrical interface needed for measurement. When it makes intracellular contact, changes in membrane voltage can be detected; when it forms a high-resistance seal with the membrane, ionic currents become measurable. The amplifier receives these electrical changes and converts them into signals that can be analyzed as cellular activity. This enables recordings from individual cells.
Intracellular contact and high-resistance sealing answer different electrophysiological questions. Intracellular recording is suited to tracking membrane potential and action potentials, whereas a sealed configuration supports measurement of ionic currents and ion-channel behavior. Selecting between them therefore determines whether the experiment emphasizes cellular voltage events or current flow associated with membrane ion channels.
Both the filling solution and the amplifier are essential parts of the measurement chain. The electrolyte solution provides the conducting medium within the pipette, while the amplifier receives the resulting voltage or current changes and makes them measurable. Their coordinated use links microscopic membrane events to recorded data suitable for examining neuronal signaling.
A typical workflow begins by filling the fine glass pipette with an electrolyte solution and connecting it to an amplifier. The pipette tip is then brought into an electrical relationship with the cell, either through intracellular contact or by forming a high-resistance seal with the membrane. The selected configuration determines which voltage or current signals can be recorded.
Depending on the configuration, measurements can reveal membrane potential, action potentials, synaptic activity, ionic currents, and ion-channel behavior. These readouts are valuable because they connect electrical events within an individual neuron to communication between neurons. The resulting data can be used to examine how cells generate signals and how those signals reflect neuronal function.
Recording pipettes are especially useful when researchers need cellular electrophysiology rather than only a broader description of neural activity. Their measurements help relate individual-cell behavior to neural communication and circuit function, while also allowing investigation of how drugs or disease affect electrical signals. This makes them relevant for studying both normal neuronal function and altered cellular activity.