AJP - Cell Physiology, Vol 256, Issue 1 C214-C217, Copyright © 1989 by American Physiological Society
Temperature-controlled perfusion apparatus for microscope using transparent conducting film heater
S. Toyotomi and Y. Momose
Department of Physics, Faculty of Medicine, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Japan.
We describe a novel temperature-controlled perfusion apparatus for
electrophysiological studies on isolated cells or membrane patches. The
apparatus uses a transparent conducting film of indium-tin-oxide as a
heating element. The film heater deposited on a glass sheet allows us to
construct a structurally simple apparatus that is able not only to heat
directly the bath chamber but also to preheat the perfusion solution on the
stage of an inverted microscope. The structure ensures a uniform
temperature in a bath chamber that has a working area of approximately 6 X
12 mm2 and a capacity of 1 ml. A control unit, designed for operation of
the apparatus, regulates the temperature of the bathing solution without
introducing electrical noise in a range from ambient temperature to greater
than 37 degrees C with an accuracy within +/- 1 degree C. The apparatus is
12 mm in height and designed to fit on the stage of a standard inverted
microscope. Since the bath chamber for perfusion experiments is readily
interchanged with others, the apparatus can be used widely in microscopic
studies of various cells in static solutions.
