A Silicon-Based "Multi Patch" Device for Ion Channel Current Sensing

Ion channels are cellular membrane proteins that act as specific signal transducers. They play a crucial role in physiology and physiopathology, and are important drug targets. The patch-clamp technique is standard for assessing ion channel function, but the need for automation and parallelism has not yet been fulfilled. Efforts are underway to develop parallel patch-on-a-chip technologies in order to provide higher throughput and better reproducibility. Our approach is to develop a bio-electronic sandwich device, comprising a silicon-based micro-structured cell substrate held between two Printed Circuits Boards. "Multi Patch" is a "patch-on-a-chip" device where patch pipettes are replaced by micrometer-sized holes and multiple single-cell electrical signals can be monitored simultaneously. Here, we demonstrate that our silicon-based device provides Giga-Ohm seal resistivity with cells, which is the primary requirement to record ion channel activity.