Understanding Whole Cell Patch Clamp

[gamecube999]

I don't really know the principles of this technique despite doing some reading:

the cell patch is destroyed, and the contents of the cytoplasm can mix with the contents of the electrode.

there is a low resistance pathway - so what?

and how can measurements be made if the membrane is destroyed?

 

[muadib2k]

The entire cell membrane is not destroyed, only the membrane at the interface of the tip/cell is made porous. Because of that measurements can be made using this particular technique. You should do a quick search on google and you'll be able to find movies/animations that demonstrate and explain this.

Hope that helps.

 

[Vladimir Matveev]

Dear Colleagues,
Is it possible to study membrane potential - intracellular K+ (Na+) content relationship by whole cell patch-clamp method? Some article please...