ION CHANNELS GET AUTOMATED

摘要

Ion channels currently represent a less well charted territory of druggable targets than cell-surface receptors and enzymes, but this is changing. The electrophysiological techniques traditionally used to study ion-channel activity (one-cell, one-pipette patch clamping) are too slow for screening drug candidates, but some companies are finding ways to adapt and automate these techniques. One factor driving this development is the requirement by the regulatory authorities that all drugs must be tested for possible effects on a cardiac potassium channel (the hERG channel), which can cause cardiac arrhythmia.