The Biomedical center has state-of-the-art rigs for cellular physiology and related techniques for recordings from tissue and whole organs.

Included are quantitative physiological measurements such as electrophysiology (e.g., single-cell patch-clamp recordings), ion-sensitive imaging (e.g., calcium, potassium, sodium, hydrogen, and magnesium), and voltage imaging.

The facility offers advanced methods in manipulating cellular physiology, using light or engineered drugs to regulate or measure membrane potential, ion membrane conductance, intracellular ion concentrations, neurotransmitter release and gene expression, such as:

• channelrhodopsins
• modified G-protein coupled receptors
• calcium
• neurotransmitter
• metabolic and membrane-voltage indicators
• light-induced gene regulators

These novel technologies use light or engineered drugs to regulate cellular physiological variables like the ones listed above. 

Further expansion of these and other related techniques is planned.

Three rigs for quantitative cell physiology are being set up in the electrophysiology core facility that together will allow for the application of most of the methods described above.

All three can be in operation at the same time, and the core facility will have expertise available to assist scientists in their use.