ezPATCH 100A Smart Manipulator

The ezPatch 100A is a smart manipulator. It has all the functions a manual manipulator has. In addition, it comes with a computer controlled feedback system so that it can stop precisely after the electrode touches the cell membrane. The system is ideal for patch clamping.

In patch clamp experiments, all users need to do is to aim the electrode at a selected cell. A click of a button and the electrode moving at a specified speed will stop at the surface of the cell membrane at specified pressure (measured by resistance increase). If used with our ez-gSEAL pressure controller, suction will be automatically appled to make seal and suction pulses will be applied for going whole cell. Patch clamp experiments will be consistent and precise once you find the best seal parameters. The seal parameters can be saved for different cell types and shared among lab members.

The control software has many functions that make patch clamp experiments easy and precise. You can excise patches at a predefined speed. With the manual control functions



in the software, you can move the electrode forwards or backwards in as small as 0.1 µm steps at a defined speed. The software can also control multiple manipulators. Therefore, users can make seals on the same cell or a few different cells simultaneously.

If drift from the pipette holder/o-ring is a concern, an optional pipette-holder clamp can be purchased. It clamps the glass pipette so that the drift caused by an o-ring is minimal.

There is no additional electrical noise from the manipulator since no current is going through the motor when it stops. The friction ensures that the motor does not lose even a single micro step of the gear (50 nm).

The BNC interface box comes with 10 analog inputs and 2 analog outputs. An output trigger is provided for synchronization in case it is needed. For the best grounding results, software controls the BNC interface box to be either in a float or grounded condition.

The ezPATCH 100A manipulator comes with National Instruments' PCI 6221 DAQ board, which is supported by many data acquisition programs such as jCLAMP. If you plan to use such software you will not need to purchase an extra data acquisition board.

System Specifications

Major Components One micromanipulator, which includes a motorized linear stage and a manual XY stage One PCI data acquisition board with BNC interface box Control software NBSController Dimension: 4 in x 2 in x 9 in Weight: 2 lb Line voltage: 100 VAC to 120 VAC, or 220 VAC to 240 VAC Motorized Stage Travel: 28 mm Resolution: 0.05 µm Maximum speed: 4.8 mm/s Lowest speed: 0.5 µm/s Serial/USB interface

Manual XY Stage Modular ball bearing linear stages Sensitivity 0.7 µm One inch travel Drift less than 1 µm/hr Data Acquisition Board Sixteen analog inputs, 16-bit, 250 kS/s, Input Impedance: > 10 GΩ in parallel with 100pF Two 16-bit analog outputs, 740 kS/s per channel.  Output impedance: 0.2 Ω 24 digital I/O lines, 32-bit counters; digital triggering Analog input range: ± 10 V Analog output range: ± 10 V

Computer Requirements

Windows 7, 8, or 10 with 2.0 GHz CPU

At least 1 USB port

1 PCI slot

US Price

$9,100.00

Contact us for international pricing.

Key Features

Includes a computer-controlled manipulator, a data acquisition board, a BNC interface box, and control software.

Resolution of the computer controlled manipulator is 50 nm.

Manipulator movement stops when patch pipette touches the cell membrane.

No electrical noise during recording.

Ideal for patch clamping.