New polymer packaging for planar patch-clamp

We present a new microfluidic packaging dedicated to planar patch-clamp on silicon chip. The device allows the handling of living cells for typically 30 to 40 minutes including the steps of fluidic circulation, drug dispense and electrical measurement. This device is a tool for drug screening allowing parallel ion channel behaviour analysis. Combining microfabrication processes and a relevant microfluidic structure, we aim to increase the measurements throughput. In this paper, we focus on the technological choices required by the integration of the cells in a lab on chip. Materials have to be biocompatible and inert in a biological environment. Moreover, we show a novel modular assembly that allows the integration of electrodes on chips and eases the connexion of fluidic reservoirs. Our recent results demonstrate the efficiency of the system towards the gold standard patch-clamp technique. We recently recorded in whole-cell configuration the blockage by Iberiotoxin of BK channels stably expressed in HEK cells. This results show the ability of our system to provide the data needed by pharmaceutical industry to assess the efficiency or the toxicity of new drugs specifically targeting ion channels.