Voltage Tester for Beating Cardiac Cells

February 19, 2015

(Nanotechnology Now) – Electrical impulses play an important role in cells of the human body. For example, neurons use these impulses to transmit information along their branches and the body also uses them to control the contraction of muscles. The impulses are generated when special channel proteins open in the outer envelope of the cells, allowing charged molecules (ions) to enter or exit the cell. These proteins are referred to as ion channels. Since the 1970s, a method has been available to researchers that enables measurement of the activity of these channels, but until now this method has been used primarily on cells that do not move.