Multi-well microelectrode array (MEA): a bridge to highthroughput electrophysiology.

This project aims to upgrade the current electrophysiology technologies at UAntwerpen by acquiring a state-of-the-art MicroElectrode Array platform (MEA). To study the electrophysiological properties of excitable cells, currently patch-clamping is the gold standard. However, this is an extremely labour-intensive and invasive technique, limited to short-term measurements of individual cells at single time points. On the other hand, MEAs enable high-throughput non-invasive longitudinal real‐time measurements of functional cellular networks, without disrupting important cell-cell contacts, and thus provide a more physiologically relevant model. The multi-well format allows repeated recordings from cell cultures grown under various experimental conditions, including the opportunity to rapidly screen large drug libraries. Based on these advantages, multi-well MEAs are the most suitable instrument for functionally elucidating the pathomechanisms of neurological/cardiac disorders by performing (1) cardiac activity assays: measurement of field and action potentials from (iPSC-)cardiomyocytes to investigate wave-form, propagation and irregular beating; (2) neural activity assay based on three key measures: frequency of action potential firing, synchrony as measure for synaptic strength and oscillation as hallmark for neuronal organization in time; (3) (iPSC-)vascular smooth muscle contractility assay based on impedance alterations.

Keywords:ACTION POTENTIALS

Disciplines:Electrophysiology