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The recipients of the Sophion research grant are utilizing the grant to conduct research on chemotherapy drugs affecting Nav1.7 currents, further deepening their studies on sodium channels and cancer by using Sophion's automated patch clamp system. They are an assistant professor at Istanbul Medipol University and are currently affiliated with our laboratory in Copenhagen, conducting research alongside senior researcher Kim Boddum. We had a discussion about the research and its objectives. For more details, please refer to the related links.

Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) hold the potential to revolutionize heart disease modeling and drug screening. However, capturing physiologically relevant action potentials (APs) has been challenging, particularly with conventional whole-cell (WC) patch-clamp methods. WC recordings often disrupt the cellular environment, leading to a reduction in AP duration due to the "washing out" of cytoplasmic components. By using perforated patch-clamp techniques, it is possible to maintain electrical access while preserving cellular integrity. Unlike WC, the perforated method creates small pores in the cell membrane using agents like nystatin, allowing ions to pass while retaining important cytoplasmic components. Applying this method has significantly improved AP recordings on the Sophion Qube 384 platform, demonstrating a success rate of up to 40%. For more details, please refer to the related links.

As summer comes to an end and the signs of autumn are felt, we bring you the quarterly overview from Sophion users. The third quarter has also been a very busy period for Sophion's platform in ion channel research. Many themes are covered, including Nav, Kv, Cav, ligand-dependent ion channels, neurological diseases, cancer, infectious diseases, safety pharmacology, as well as toxins and antitoxins, so you are sure to find something that catches your eye. From an excellent list of publications, we would like to highlight three particularly valuable and interesting developments. For more details, please see the related links.

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are a highly versatile platform for modeling human neurons, enabling the generation of excitatory neurons for in vitro models. To understand the electrophysiological properties of neurons, such as excitability and synaptic transmission, recording ion channels in hiPSC-derived neurons is key. Researchers can investigate not only healthy neurophysiological functions by capturing the dynamics of ion channel currents such as sodium, potassium, and calcium, but also dysfunctions related to neurological diseases such as epilepsy, autism, and neurodegenerative disorders. These models provide valuable tools for studying disease mechanisms and testing potential therapeutic interventions in patient-specific contexts. For more details, please see the related links.

The paper using QPatch Compact focuses on the study of the inhibition of the Nav1.8 ion channel by two new analgesic compounds, VX-150 and VX-548. The Nav1.8 channel is a major target in sensory neurons that detect pain and is extremely important for pain-related therapies. This research, conducted by a professor's laboratory at Harvard Medical School, utilized the QPatch Compact semi-automated patch clamp system to perform voltage clamp recordings and analyze the effects of these compounds on Nav1.8 sodium currents. For more details, please see the related links.