Hi,
I am using HEKA USB 10 amplifier for my whole-cell patch-clamp experiments. I would like to perform Single-channel recordings and outside-out (Pulled) recordings with the same Patch rig.
Now I am using a sampling frequency at 10 kHz and a Low Pass filter at 2kHz for whole-cell recordings.
Do I need to change any specific settings for Single-channel recordings?
The present Patch rig noise ranges from 500 fA to 2 pA. What is the recommended noise range for single-channel recordings?
Regards,
Rajesh
2 pA noise with a 2 kHz filter on may be quite a lot. It depends on the conductance of the channel in question, as it is the signal/noise ratio that determines whether your data is useful or not.
What I aim for when doing my recordings (on an Axopatch 200B) is standard deviation of signal at the baseline being around 0.08-0.12 pA when the signal is filtered with a low-pass Bessel 2 kHz filter. But that's because I measure signals that are mostly ~2 pA in amplitude. If the channels you want to study have higher conductance then you might get away with more noise.
Hi Rajesh,
Like Marek Brodzki said, it will depend on the size of your single channel amplitude, but 500 fA to 2 pA is a lot of noise and will interfere with your analysis and not be visually attractive when publishing. You can mount a pipette and dip it in solution, rack up the gain and try to screen and ground connect away the noise, even before you have a single channel on the pipette. If you still have high noise, you can repeat when you have a channel on your patch. I would always patch with the lights off as fluorescent lights can be a major noise source.
MacG
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