Shlyonsky Vadim, Dupuis Freddy, Gall David
Laboratoire de Physiologie et Physiopathologie, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium.
Service Ondes et Signaux, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium.
PLoS One. 2014 Sep 24;9(9):e108097. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108097. eCollection 2014.
Understanding the electrical biophysical properties of the cell membrane can be difficult for neuroscience students as it relies solely on lectures of theoretical models without practical hands on experiments. To address this issue, we developed an open-source lipid bilayer amplifier, the OpenPicoAmp, which is appropriate for use in introductory courses in biophysics or neurosciences at the undergraduate level, dealing with the electrical properties of the cell membrane. The amplifier is designed using the common lithographic printed circuit board fabrication process and off-the-shelf electronic components. In addition, we propose a specific design for experimental chambers allowing the insertion of a commercially available polytetrafluoroethylene film. We provide a complete documentation allowing to build the amplifier and the experimental chamber. The students hand-out giving step-by step instructions to perform a recording is also included. Our experimental setup can be used in basic experiments in which students monitor the bilayer formation by capacitance measurement and record unitary currents produced by ionic channels like gramicidin A dimers. Used in combination with a low-cost data acquisition board this system provides a complete solution for hands-on lessons, therefore improving the effectiveness in teaching basic neurosciences or biophysics.
对于神经科学专业的学生来说，理解细胞膜的电生物物理特性可能具有挑战性，因为这完全依赖于理论模型的讲授，而没有实际操作实验。为了解决这个问题，我们开发了一种开源脂质双层放大器——OpenPicoAmp，它适用于本科阶段生物物理学或神经科学的入门课程，用于研究细胞膜的电学特性。该放大器采用常见的光刻印刷电路板制造工艺和现成的电子元件进行设计。此外，我们还提出了一种实验腔室的特定设计，允许插入市售的聚四氟乙烯薄膜。我们提供了完整的文档，用于构建放大器和实验腔室。还包括了一份学生手册，其中给出了进行记录的逐步说明。我们的实验装置可用于基础实验，学生们可以通过电容测量监测双层膜的形成，并记录由短杆菌肽A二聚体等离子通道产生的单位电流。与低成本的数据采集板结合使用，该系统为实践课程提供了完整的解决方案，从而提高了基础神经科学或生物物理学教学的有效性。
