Method for analyzing the activity of an ion channel

US10690680B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignees

• PARIS SCIENCES ET LETTRES - QUARTIER LATIN · FR
• UNIVERSITÉ PARIS DIDEROT—PARIS 7 · FR
• COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES · FR

Inventors

• Abdou Rachid Thiam · Choisy-le-Roi, FR
• Béatrice Schaack · Grenoble, FR

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 17, 2016
• Grant date: Jun 23, 2020
• Expiry date: Jul 21, 2037

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01N2500/00
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A method to analyze the activity of an ion channel comprising: providing in a hydrophobic medium a first droplet of an aqueous solution AS1 comprising a concentration q of an ion I with c1≥0, wherein the droplet is surrounded by a monolayer of amphiphilic molecules; providing in the hydrophobic medium a second droplet of an aqueous solution AS2 comprising a concentration c2 of the ion I with c2≥0, and c2≠c1, wherein the second droplet is surrounded by a monolayer of amphiphilic molecules further comprising the ion channels to an analyzed; bringing the first droplet and the second droplet into contact so as to form a bilayer of amphiphilic molecules, wherein the bilayer further comprises ion channels to be analyzed, and measuring the radius of the two droplets when they are brought into contact referred to as initial state; and maintaining the first droplet and the second droplet in contact until equilibrium is reached and measuring the radius of the two contacted droplets or determining the number of resulting droplet(s) at the equilibrium state, wherein the ion channel is inactive when the difference of the radius of at least one droplet between its initial state and its equilibri…