Abstract
Ion channels play a critical role in regulation of the central nervous system and the physiology of nerves and muscles. As a result they have been implicated in numerous disease conditions such as diabetes and epilepsy, and are leading targets for new medications. The patch clamp method is the gold standard for evaluating ion channel activity in vitro. When implemented in a manual fashion, the patch clamp assay is limited to around 10 data points per day, which is well below the threshold needed for meaningful drug discovery and development efforts. The IonFlux platform uses the proprietary Well Plate Microfluidic technology to automate the patch clamp method in a convenient and high throughput well plate format that comes in two scalable configurations to accommodate a broad range of applications, including both voltage- and ligand-gated ion channels. The IonFlux HT is suited for high throughput screening in drug discovery and development. This version is capable of producing up to 10,000 data points per day. For additional throughput, up to four IonFlux HT systems can be arrayed around a single liquid handling robot for up to 40,000 data points per day. The low cost per data point and minimal compound usage make the IonFlux HT ideal for drug screening, drug development, safety toxicology, and ion channel research. The IonFlux 16 is a cost-effective solution for moderate throughput applications such as cell line development, mutant screening, and assay development. For the first time ever, users have access to true automated patch clamp technology at a comparable cost to a manual patch clamp rig.
