Case Study: Allegheny College investigates amyloid beta’s effects on ion channels with Molecular Devices Axon patch-clamp systems

Allegheny College advances Alzheimer’s ion-channel research with Molecular Devices and three undergraduate researchers

Allegheny College, a liberal arts institution with an undergraduate neuroscience program, faced the challenge of investigating how amyloid beta peptide blocks ion channels in Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Lauren French and her team of students required sophisticated electrophysiology equipment to conduct this research and teach patch-clamp techniques. They turned to vendor Molecular Devices for a solution using the Axoclamp 900A amplifier, a Digidata acquisition system, and pCLAMP software.

Molecular Devices provided the electrophysiology setup that enabled the Allegheny College team to successfully use the Xenopus oocyte expression system for their research. The solution allowed students to perform two-electrode voltage-clamp experiments, confirming ion channel expression and testing compound effects. For Molecular Devices, the key result was the effective training of the next generation of scientists in sophisticated techniques and the advancement of the lab's independent research projects into Alzheimer's disease.

Allegheny College