Multichannel Systems IonFlux System User Manual

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IonFlux Product
Specifications

IonFlux Reader

Amplifiers: Integrated 16 or 64 channel
amplifiers, sampling rate adjustable to
20 khz; includes capacitance, leak, and
series resistance compensation

Dimensions: App. 20” (50 cm) X 20” (50
cm) X 10” (25 cm)

Temperature control: ambient to 40 °C

Integrated plate/liquid handler: available

IonFlux Plate

Plate formats: SBS-standard 96 and 384
well

Recording format: Parallel-cell ensemble
recording, 20 cells per group

Patch zones per experiment: 2 patch
zones in same experimental region

Compounds: 8 unique compounds or
concentrations per experiment

Experiments per plate:
96-well plate: 8 experiments per plate, each
w/ 2 traps, 8 compounds
384-well plate: 32 experiments per plate,
each w/ 2 traps, 8 compounds

IonFlux Software

Operating modules: Protocol editor, run
table manager, assay development mode,
recording visualization, analysis, and data
export

Operating system: Windows XP, Vista

Performance

Throughput:

96-well plate: 250 data points per hour
384-well plate: 1000 data points per hour

Compound application time: <100 ms

Unique Ion Channel Screening Capabilities

Rapid compound exchange. Continu-
ous recording from an ensemble of
CHO cells expressing GABA-A
receptors during successive application
of increasing GABA concentrations is
shown. This data illustrates the ability to
exchange compounds rapidly for a cell
ensemble with continuous recording.

Ensemble trapping region. The
IonFlux plate records from a 20-cell
ensemble in parallel, providing the best
combination of consistency, success
rate, and recording fidelity. Active fluidic
control is utilized to introduce cells,
move them to the trapping area, and
position the cells for optimal trapping.
Trapping channels have a height and
width of approximately 1.5 μm.

Robust assay consistency. IonFlux
data showing the magnitude of the
stimulus response (10 μM GABA appli-
cation) for 128 cell ensembles across 8
plates, and comparison to a negative
control (ECS). Z’ values (control vs. 10
μM GABA) across the 8 plates shown
averaged Z’ = 0.58±0.15.

Extracellular (flow channel)

Automation and scalability. An inte-
grated automation solution utilizing
Tecan’s Freedom Evo robotic platform
and IonFlux electrophysiology readers is
available. Up to 4 readers can be inte-
grated with the same robotic work-
station for superior throughput.