Patent ID: 7846389

Claim:
An apparatus for use with a biological cellular membrane in detecting and assaying compounds with ion channel activity, comprising: a well with a porous substrate disposed therein, said substrate having at least one pore with a diameter between 0.5 μm and 10 μm; a solution perfusion channel disposed below said porous substrate and defining an inlet and an outlet for flow of fluid therethrough; a first electrode disposed in said well; a second electrode disposed in said solution perfusion channel in electrical communication with the first electrode through said porous substrate; wherein said substrate is configured to permit adherence of a biological cellular membrane on an upper side thereof opposite said perfusion channel with a seal between said cellular membrane and said porous substrate having sufficient electrical resistance to facilitate patch clamping measurements across said membrane; and further comprising a biological cellular membrane adhered only to said upper side of the porous substrate with a high resistance seal.