Recording Chambers

Warner Series 20 Chambers

Series 20 Chambers from Warner Instruments are a family of models covering many different applications. The modular design has two parts: the polycarbonate chamber (insert) and aluminium holder (platform). Heated platforms are available. The chamber may be quickly and easily removed from the platform for exchange of the coverslip, which forms the base of the chamber. Coverslips are attached using silicone stopcock or vacuum grease. Cells are viewed commonly viewed with an inverted microscope through the single thickness #1 coverslip.

Chambers may easily be perfused, and in many cases the chamber is diamond shape, promoting linear flow of the perfusate. A separate suction chamber permits quiet removal of perfusate with vacuum or a pump. For all sorts of perfusion accessories, please see our next page.

Not all chambers are illustrated here - please ask us for a complete catalog.

Series 20 Chambers include ...

• RC-20 & RC-20H Small Volume Imaging chambers - 36/70 µl chambers with 15 mm coverslips top and bottom, 1mm deep.

• RC-21 & RC-21BR Large Bath Imaging Chambers - 260 µl volume with 2.5 mm between the top & bottom cover slips.

• RC-21BRFS Imaging Chamber with Field Stimulation - includes a pair of parallel platinum wires for field stimulation.

• RC-21BRW Open Chamber - an open chamber using the popular 25 mm round coverslip, with a wick connecting the suction well.

• RC-22 & RC-22C Tissue Slice Chambers - small chambers (90 or 120 µl) for tissue and brain slice studies; slice anchors available.

• RC-24 & RC-24E Fast Exchange Open Chambers - small chambers (40/50 µl) ideal for patch clamping when using drugs in small quantities (illustrated).

• RC-25 & RC-25F Round Coverslip Chambers - open chambers using popular sizes of round coverslips, 12/13 or 15 mm diameter.

• RC-26 & RC-26G Large Open Bath Chambers - easy electrode access with optional slice hold-down anchors of stainless steel & lycra (illustrated).

• RC-26GLP Low Profile Large Bath - only 2 mm high, providing plenty of clearance for upright microscopes.

• RC-26Z Oocyte Chamber - designed for oocyte recording with a second agar bridge well for bath electrodes plus increased dam height in the suction well.

• RC-27 models Very Large Bath - a large specimen bath which will allow insertion of coverslips up to 12 x 24 mm, often used for slice culture studies. Variations include the RC-27NE, a narrow bath with field stimulation electrodes (illustrated), and the RC-27L, designed for slice studies with solution under the slice and a wide range of slice hold-downs.

• RC-28 Excised Patch Chamber - a dual bath allowing patching onto a cell from a population and then transfer of the cell to the second bath while the intervening dam/reservoir is temporarily flooded (illustrated). This allows solution exchange on the patched cell with contaminating the cell population.

Series 20 Platforms

The Platform acts as a base for the chamber and provides clamping for the seal between chamber and coverslip. The correct model must chosen to match the chamber. Most models have sliding clamps permitting quick removal of the chamber.

Heated Platforms, containing resistive heaters, as also available. Please see the next page for appropriate temperature controllers.

For most microscopes, a stage adaptor is also required. These are available for most models of Leica, Nikon, Olympus & Zeiss microscopes. Adaptors are machined from plastic (for thermal insulation from the stage), and the Platform is held down with two button clamps.

Warner RC Series Chambers

The RC Series are unheated, open bath chambers suitable for inverted or dissecting microscopes. The bath floor is a 24 x 60 mm #2 coverslip, attached with silicone grease, or with Sylgard or silicone rubber (RTV) cement for more permanency.

• The RC-10 is 10 mm diameter, with a volume of 160 µl, and a single agar bridge well (illustrated)
• RC-11/13/16 are larger chambers for slices and other larger preparations; RC-13 and RC-15 accept round coverslips used for cell culture (12 & 15 mm diameter respectively).
• Stage adaptors are available to suit many common models of microscope.