Bilayers

Specialist equipment from Warner Instruments for planar lipid bilayer recording. The planar bilayer formed by painting lipids across a small aperture in a partition is one of the simplest techniques available to the novice and expert alike and has been used to reconstitute and record the single-channel behavior of a wide variety of ion channel proteins from diverse tissues.

Warner BC-525D Bilayer Clamp

A dedicated research instrument for planar lipid bilayers, using an integrating (capacitive feedback) headstage for high bandwidth, low noise recording.

Major improvements in the new model of this popular amplifier include:

• Reduced noise and wider bandwidth (60 kHz)
• Improved stability
• Digital hold potential: up to ±200 mV in steps of 1 and 10 mV
• AutoZero function as well as traditional offset controls
• Digital readout of membrane capacitance up to 1999 pF
• Multi-step 4-pole Bessel filter: 0.05 to 20 kHz in 1,2,5 steps
• Capacitance compensation circuitry for up to 500 pF, fast & slow
• Audio output during membrane formation

Bilayer Chambers & Cuvettes

A 2-part system consists of a black Delrin chamber and a cuvette of polystyrene, Delrin or polysufone. Cups and chambers are designed such that addition of equal volumes to the cup and chamber results in a balanced solution height, thus minimizing any mechanical gradients across the bilayer membrane.

• Small size cuvettes are 13 mm diameter and hold up to 1.2 ml
• Larger size cuvettes are 22 mm diameter and hold up to 5 ml
• Provided with recessed well for stirbar; stirbar included
• Intermediate wells provided for agar bridges
• Both sizes of cuvette are available with each combination of Polystyrene, Delrin of Polysulfone material, and precision machined apertures of 150, 200 or 250 µm

Perfusion Bilayer Chamber & Cuvettes

A new bilayer chamber expressly designed to facilitate solution exchange. Perfusion ports are incorporated for attachment of perfusion lines. A built-in aspiration overflow shelf allows removal of solution by aspiration to maintain fluid height without introducing noise artefacts.

• Working volume of 1 ml
• Cup and chamber each have stirbar in recessed well
• Cups are available in Delrin or Polystyrene, with apertures of 150, 200 or 250 µm

SPIN-2 Stirrer

This stirrer overcomes the problems with a simple single-field stirplate used for bilayers. It provides two independent magnetic fields, so two stir bars can be used at an adjustable separation. This prevents collisions and noise artefacts, so data can be collected while stirring.

• No Noise!
• Stir while recording!
• Independent cis/trans dipoles
• Virtually no magnetic flux through bilayer membrane
• Magnetic side panels
• External, isolated controller
• Combined rack mount controller available for SUN-1 and STIR-2

SUN-1 Halogen Lamp

The optimized electrical design of this lamp allows it to be used within a shielded environment while minimizing the introduction of line-frequency or antenna noise into the Faraday cage.

• External controller
• Magnetic base
• Gooseneck with swivel head
• Noise-free design
• 20W halogen lamp
• Combined rack mount controller available for SUN-1 and STIR-2

Single Channel Simulators

A reliable model is the best way of routinely checking the adequacy of data acquisition hardware and software and analysis software, besides being a useful teaching tool.

• The CM-3 is a continuously variable single channel model
• Simulates an actively gating ion channel
• Individual selection of open and close time constants (1-200 ms)
• Selection of unitary channel conductance (0-750 pS)
• Available in two membrane capacitances, 10 and 100 pF

• Small dimensions allow easy attachment to the amplifier headstage

• The CM-1 is a fixed variable single channel model simulating an actively gating ion channel
• Mean time constants are preset to 10 ms
• Conductance is 20 pS (patch) and 200 pS (bilayer)