Overview   Lab & Research     Rane Lab     My Research       -Neurons       -Ion Channels       -Patch Clamp       -Growth Factors       -PC12 Cells       -Summary   Pseudoscience   Evolution &   Creationism	Ion Channels Ion channels are a family of proteins, macromolecules that simultaneously constitute and regulate a majority of the organic machinery within a cell. Ion channels are specialized proteins inserted into the cell membrane, a wall of organic molecules that separates a cell's fragile interior from its external environment. Normally, this wall prohibits the passage of electrically charged atoms, called ions, into and out of the cell. But for a variety of reasons, the influx and efflux of ions is vital to the cell's metabolism. Ion channels mediate this flux and hence regulate the electrical properties of a cell. A diagram of an ion channel is shown below: Ion channels, like many protein families, can be classified into a multitude of different types. The two types of ion channels that I studied are voltage-dependent sodium and calcium channels. As their names imply, these channels are selective for the passage of sodium and calcium ions, and the voltage-dependent properties of these channels play critical roles in the conduction of a neuron's electrical impulse. How does one measure the activity of ion channels? It involves the use of a very clever and often frustrating device known as the patch clamp.
Mind 'Scapes, its pages and contents are © 1998 by Michael D. Hilborn, President of the Biggles 2000 Time-Dimensional Corporation. You are free to copy and use the original artwork on these pages, although I would appreciate it if you ask me first.