Introduction EPC9 Manual 6
best be appreciated by the variety of experiments that can be carried out with it.
Besides high-resolution recordings of single channels, it can be used in studies of
whole-cell voltage and current clamp, exocytosis (by monitoring changes in cell
membrane capacitance), and recordings from artificial membranes or loose-patch
experiments. Technically, the EPC9 is noteworthy for three special features, the
range-changing capability of the head stage, the extremely wide bandwidth available
from the current monitor circuitry, and the integrated transient cancellation
(automatically if desired) and series-resistance compensation functions. Together
these features mean that a single head stage suffices for both single-channel and
whole-cell recordings, and that both kinds of recordings can be made with high time
resolution and low noise.
This manual is designed to provide a general guide for setting up and using the
EPC9 for experiments. It covers general information about the hardware, the
E9Screen program, and basic principles o f the EPC9's functions and patch-clamp
techniques.
It is assumed that the reader has some familiarity with patch-clamp techniques;
should you be a newcomer to the field perhaps the best place to start would be the
paper by Hamill et al., where the basic gigaseal techniques are described and the first
three chapters of Single Channel Recording (B. Sakmann & E. Neher, eds., Plenum
Press, New York, 1995). Certainly, it will be worthwhile to read this manual
carefully. Many users will want to read some of the more advanced and complete
discussions of individual topics which can be be found in original articles and in the
books Single Channel Recording (B. Sakmann & E. Neher, eds., Plenum Press, New
York, 1995) and Methods in Enzymology, vol. 207 (Academic Press, New York, 1992).
References
Original Articles
Hamill, O. P., Marty, A., Neher, E., Sakmann, B. & Sigworth, F. J. (1981) Improved
patch clamp techniques for high-resolution current recording from cells and cell-free
membrane patches. Pflügers Arch. 391, 85-100.
Neher, E. (1981) Unit conductance studies in biological membranes. In: Techniques in
Cellular Physiology (P. F. Baker, ed.) Elsevier/North Holland.
Neher, E. & Sakmann, B. (1976) Single-channel currents recorded from membrane of
denervated frog muscle fibres. Nature 260, 779-802.
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