An air-molding technique for fabricating PDMS planar patch-clamp electrodes

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Electrophysiology

Background:

• Patch electrodes are crucial for cellular electrophysiology.
• Fabricating high-quality patch electrodes can be challenging.
• Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is a versatile silicone elastomer for microfabrication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a new, accessible laboratory technique for fabricating planar patch electrodes.
• To demonstrate the efficacy of these electrodes for cellular measurements.

Main Methods:

• Micromolding of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using a micron-sized air stream to define electrode apertures.
• Surface modification of planar PDMS electrodes.
• Performing single-channel recordings on rSlo channels in Xenopus oocytes.
• Conducting whole-cell recordings in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) and Rat Basophil Leukemia (RBL) mammalian cell lines.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of planar patch electrodes using the described micromolding technique.
• Demonstration of effective single-channel measurements using the PDMS electrodes.
• Validation of the electrodes for whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in mammalian cell lines.

Conclusions:

• The presented technique offers a straightforward and reproducible method for producing planar patch electrodes in a laboratory setting.
• Planar PDMS electrodes, after surface modification, are suitable for various electrophysiological studies.
• This method has potential applications in cellular research and drug screening.