Discover QPatch

Sophion is proud to present the most flexible automated patch clamp system on the market today: The QPatch.

With a QPatch system, you get full flexibility to address your ion channel research needs, as the systems in the QPatch product family are on-site upgradeable all the way from QPatch 8 to QPatch HTX.

The history of the QPatch

First came the QPatch 16
The original member of the QPatch family, on the market in 2004, is the QPatch 16. This system provides 16 parallel patch clamp experiments, and was a major breakthrough in the field of ion channel research. Today it is used in research laboratories and safety pharmacology groups worldwide.

The QPatch 16 includes elevator units for stacking and feeding QPlates, the planar patch consumable for QPatch experiments. The unique automated cell preparation station keeps cells stirred in suspension until the experiment begins. Prior to application to the QPlate, cells are washed and prepared automatically, using the on-board centrifuge. This means that the system can not only run unattended for several hours during the day, but can also be put to work after normal working hours, thus enhancing daily throughput. A pipetting robot provides solution and compound application to the measurement positions of the QPlate. The system continuously monitors that the experimental conditions are appropriate and compound application only takes place when the correct measurement condition is established. This increases overall throughput and saves valuable compound.

QPatch HT for higher throughput
In 2006 the QPatch HT was introduced, now further enhancing automated patch clamp throughput by enabling 48 parallel patch clamp experiments. In addition to the elevator units for stacking and feeding QPlates, QPatch HT also features elevator units for compound plates, strengthening the unattended features of high-throughput automated patch clamp on the QPatch.

Introducing multi-hole technology
The QPatch technology received a strengthening boost in 2009, when the multi-hole technology for QPatch was released. A hardware upgrade now enables all QPatch systems to run experiments with ten whole-cells per measurement site; all you have to change is the QPlate type.

The multi-hole technology is especially suited for ion channels with low conductance and/or cell lines with a large heterogeneity of ion channel expression levels, such as cell lines with transiently transfected ion channels. The multi-hole technology provides nearly 100% success rate and therefore the highest possible throughput and the lowest possible price per data point.

QPatch 8 for small-scale ion channel research
The QPatch family has since 2010 been joined by its little-sister, the QPatch 8. QPatch 8 is designed for low throughput automated patch clamp, and thus does not have all the features for unattended operation known from QPatch 16 and QPatch HT, such as cell preparation and elevator stacking units.

Easy and automated data analysis
While automated patch clamping has led to significantly increased data throughput, a new bottleneck of data analysis has emerged in the horizon. The QPatch Assay Software offers elegant automated data analysis features to efficiently remove that bottleneck.