Patch-Clamp Biosensor Method

Cells or membranes with ligand-gated ion channels endogenously expressed in cultured cells or heterologously expressed in HEK293 cells can be used as biosensors with a patch-clamp technique to detect small amounts of locally released bioactive substances that are known to activate ionotropic receptors with high affinity. We describe a detailed procedure for a patch-clamp biosensor method by focusing on the detection of ATP using undifferentiated PC12 and HEK293 cells expressing P2X₂ ion channels.