We are requesting funds for a CytoPatch(tm) 4-Channel System, designed for acquiring high-fidelity patch clamp data at medium to high-throughput. There is currently no new generation automated, high-throughput patch clamp systems (similar to the CytoPatch(tm) System) available at NYU or within New York City. There is a previous-generation, low-throughput planer patch clamp system at NYU School of Medicine, which is an aging system (purchased in 2008), is not available as a shared instrument to all users and has high running costs. Moreover, the use of seal enhancer solutions that contains high concentrations and fluoride and calcium, makes this system unsuitable for many applications and cell types. The CytoPatch(tm) instrument is a new generation recording techniques and can perform simultaneous patch clamp measurements with four individual cells at relatively low cost. The design of the CytoPatch recording quartz chip allows patch clamping in a manner that is much more similar to traditional patch clamping methods, when compared to other planer high- throughput patch clamp systems and dispenses with the need for special recording buffers. End users needs minimal training, the desktop-sized instrument is space saving and the system is easily shared between users. The instrument will be housed in a central location and managed by an experienced cellular electrophysiologist and shared by several NIH-funded major and minor users. NYUSOM Office of Collaborative Science (OCS), will assist to generate a business plan, maintain the service contract and Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) for scheduling and billing and to generate usage statistics for compliance. The major user group spans several academic departments and represents both basic and translational research interests such as; pediatrics, cardiology, immunology and neurosciences. The major NIH-funded users will have protected use of ~80% of the instrument time whereas minor users will be able to use the remaining instrument time. The availability of this shared instrument will be unique in Manhattan. The requested CytoPatch(tm) 4- Channel automated, high-throughput patch clamp instrument will support the research of several NIH funded researchers at NYU Medical School and NYU Dental School.
We are requesting funds for a CytoPatch(tm) 4-Channel System, designed for acquiring high-fidelity patch clamp data at medium to high-throughput. The design of the CytoPatch recording quartz chip allows patch clamping in a manner similar to traditional patch clamping methods and there is currently no such system available at NYU or within New York City. High-throughput, high-fidelity patch clamp recordings using this new generation will allowing us to gain insight into the roles of ion channels across disciplines (pediatrics, cardiology, immunology and neuroscience) and will facilitate translational research at NYULMC and the NYU Dental School in Lower Manhattan.
