Glass micropipettes are of fundamental importance in cell physiology with profound applications in neurophysiology. The ability to access the cell's interior and monitor the electrical characteristic of the cell has lead to new information about neuronal behavior. Micropipette pullers that are currently available, utilize metal heating filaments and are limited to working with low melting point glasses such as borosilicate and aluminosilicate. High melting point glasses, such as quartz, possess superior material properties for electrophysiological research but are rarely used because their melting points exceed those of conventional heating elements. The Sutter Instrument Corporation, under the direction of Dr. Dale Fleming, will develop a laser based micropipette puller for making pipettes from quartz glasses. The heating source for the micropipette puller will be a carbon dioxide laser which produces a well-controlled light beam that can be focused precisely onto a small area. In addition to the laser's ability to melt quartz, the laser delivers heat directly to the glass and does not leave deposits on the pipette, unlike metal filaments. The mechanical and electrical properties of quartz pipettes have the potential of expanding several areas of research in neurophysiological sciences, that will result in an increased ability to obtain information from cells. Additionally, quartz micropipettes would be valuable in the emerging technology of molecular exciton microscopy.
