Patch-Clamp Electrophysiology

High-resolution electrophysiological technique recording ionic currents through single ion channels or whole-cell membranes.

Specifications & Metrics

type: Electrophysiology
readout: Transmembrane ionic current (picoamperes to nanoamperes) or membrane potential (millivolts)
measures: Single-channel conductance, open probability, voltage dependence, and drug block kinetics
format: Glass micropipette gigaohm seal (cell-attached, whole-cell, inside-out, or outside-out) and automated planar arrays
pioneer: Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann (developed late 1970s–early 1980s; 1991 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine)

Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann developed the patch-clamp technique in the late 1970s and early 1980s, enabling the first direct recordings of picoampere currents through single ion channel molecules.
A heat-polished glass micropipette pressed against a cell membrane forms a high-resistance gigaohm seal (gigaseal) that isolates a tiny membrane patch or, after suction rupture, provides low-resistance whole-cell electrical access.
In voltage-clamp mode the experimenter clamps membrane voltage to measure ionic currents, whereas in current-clamp mode current is injected to record action potential firing in neurons and cardiomyocytes.