Abstract
Small d.c. electrical signals have been detected in many biological systems and often serve important functions in cells and organs. For example, we have recently found that they play a far more important role in directing cell migration in wound healing than previously thought. Here, we describe the manufacture and use of a simplified ultrasensitive vibrating probe system for measuring extracellular electrical currents. This vibrating probe is an insulated, sharpened metal wire with a small platinum-black tip (10–30 μm), which can detect ionic currents in the μA cm−2 range in physiological saline. The probe is vibrated at about 300 Hz by a piezoelectric bender. In the presence of an ionic current, the probe detects a voltage difference between the extremes of its movement. The basic, low-cost system we describe is readily adaptable to most laboratories interested in measuring physiological electric currents associated with wounds, developing embryos and other biological systems.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Neil Gow for allowing us to re-assemble his vibrating probe system, Ann Rajnicek for technical advice and help with Figure 6c,d and Guy Bewick for photographic assistance. Bing Song contributed to Figures 4a–c and 5e, Christine Pullar to Figure 3e, Yao Li to Figure 6a and Noemi Lois to Figure 6b. We thank the Wellcome Trust for continuous support (058551, 068012). We are grateful to Ken Robinson, Alan Shipley and Peter Smith for many helpful comments on the manuscript. RN is a member of the BioCurrents Research Center Physiology of Development and Polarity Module (NIH:NCRR P41RR01395) and is also supported by NIH R44 GM069194. We thank expert referees and editors for comments and suggestions that greatly improved the manuscript.
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Reid, B., Nuccitelli, R. & Zhao, M. Non-invasive measurement of bioelectric currents with a vibrating probe. Nat Protoc 2, 661–669 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2007.91
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2007.91
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