Patent ID: 6057114
Filing Date: 2000-05-02
Classification: G01N,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
An automated method for detecting or measuring the activity of ion channels and/or receptors of a cell, comprising:(a) introducing a divided culture vessel having an array of individual compartments into an apparatus, wherein:at least two compartments contain cells to be assayed for the activity of ion channels and/or receptors;the ion channels and/or receptors when activated, directly or indirectly, cause a change in the concentration of a predetermined ion in the cytoplasm of the cells;the cytoplasm of the cells comprise an amount of an ion-sensitive fluorescent indicator sufficient to detect a change in the concentration of the predetermined ion; andthe apparatus delivers reagent solution to one or more compartments of the divided culture vessel and detects or measures an attribute of the contents of each compartment;(b) automatically delivering to one or more of the compartments an amount of a known ion channel- or receptor-activating compound that is effective to activate the ion channel or receptor;(c) within a predetermined time that is less than the time for any induced change in ion concentration to reach a maximum, automatically detecting and measuring, in one or more of the individual compartments for a predetermined amount of time, a change in ion concentration by measuring fluorescence emitted by the ion-sensitive indicator in response to an excitation wavelength, whereby the activity of ion channels and/or receptors of a cell is detected or measured.