A method of resolution improvement by the measurement of cell membrane capacitance

When measuring cell membrane electrical capacitance in whole cell configuration using alternating currents, the resolution decreases with increasing membrane conductance and pipette resistance. Improved resolution was attained by the dual-frequency method which was modified as to control the voltage amplitude of one of the measuring frequencies. A model circuit was developed for the verification of the method. This circuit allows measurement of calibrated capacitance changes even in the range of 5 to 20 fF. Moreover, the method was applied to capacitance measurements on pancreatic exocrine acinar cells. The results of measurements on the model as well as on pancreatic acinar cells are presented. The principle can also be applied to other hardware and software methods for measuring electrical cell membrane parameters.