Ion channel models are the building blocks of computational neuron models. Their biological fidelity is therefore crucial for the interpretation of simulations. However, the number of published models, and the lack of standardization, make the comparison of ion channel models with one another and with experimental data difficult. Here, we present a framework for the automated large-scale classi...

Hadamard transform time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HT-TOFMS) is based on the pseudorandom gating of ion packets into a time-of-flight mass-to-charge analyzer. In its typical implementation, the technique is able to monitor continuous ion sources with a 50% duty cycle, independent of all other figures of merit. Recently, we have demonstrated that the duty cycle can be extended to 100% using pa...

Contents 1. Introduction 2. Experimental techniques 2.1. Ion concentrations 2.2. Whole-cell recording 2.3. Current clamp and voltage clamp 2.4. Voltage clamp experiments 2.5. Recording single channel activity 2.6. Rundown 2.7. Effect of intracellular calcium buffering 2.8. Heterogeneity of cardiac cells 2.9. Electrical pathway between cells 3. Modeling the cell membrane and ion channels 3.1. El...

The divalent zinc ion is a cation that plays an indispensable role as a structural constituent of numerous proteins, including enzymes and transcription factors. Recently, it has been suggested that zinc also plays a dynamic role in extracellular and intracellular signaling as well. Ion channels are pore-forming proteins that control the flow of specific ions across the membrane, which is impor...

Ionotropic glutamate receptors are ligand-gated ion channels that mediate rapid information transfer at most excitatory synapses in the brain. Crystal structures are now available for the ligand-binding domain, but the structure of the ion channel itself remains unknown. The core of the ion channel shares structural features with an inverted K(+) channel. In detail, however, differences are eme...

We discuss various models of ion transport through cell membrane channels. Recent experimental data shows that sizes of ion channels are compared to those of ions and that only few ions may be simultaneously in any single channel. Theoretical description of ion transport in such channels should therefore take into account interactions between ions and between ions and channel proteins. This is ...

For many ion channels there are no specific pharmacological agents and this impedes searches for the physiological and pathological functions of the ion channels in native systems and restricts opportunity for therapeutic drug development. Antibodies can display high specificity for their target proteins and are routinely engineered to recognise proteins in many experimental procedures and incr...

Transcranial focused ultrasound (US) has been demonstrated to stimulate neurons in animals and humans, but the mechanism of this effect is unknown. It has been hypothesized that US, a mechanical stimulus, may mediate cellular discharge by activating mechanosensitive ion channels embedded within cellular membranes. To test this hypothesis, we expressed potassium and sodium mechanosensitive ion c...

To investigate the effects of the two-pore-domain potassium (K2P) channel TASK-3 in a syngeneic murine model for malignant glioma. Malignant or high-grade glioma (WHO grade III and IV) are the most common and most aggressive primary brain tumors in adults. Despite aggressive multimodal therapy, the outcome of patients with malignant glioma remains poor. However, recent phase I and II trials hav...