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Updated: May 8, 2026

Controllable Ion Channel Expression through Inducible Transient Transfection
Published on: February 17, 2017
A golden approach to ion channel inhibition
Gavin E Jarvis1, Andrew J Thompson
1Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EG, UK.
Abstract:
Drugs are often used in combination and, for pharmacologists, the manner of their interactions can cast light on drug mechanisms and biological processes. Here we provide simplified descriptions of commonly used analytical methods for analysing drug combinations and describe a new and practical experimental solution to address the mechanistic question: 'Do two channel-blocking drugs bind at the same site?' We define two simple mathematical models that describe the effects of two channel blockers acting simultaneously at either the same (Syntopic Model) or different (Allotopic Model) binding sites within a channel pore. We find that the optimum concentrations of two drugs for distinguishing between the two models are related to the mathematical Golden Ratio.
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