New IonWorks Barracuda Automated Patch Clamp System Meets Need for Affordable, Accelerated Screening of Ligand- & Voltage-Gated Ion Channels via Direct Electrophysiology Assays

Molecular Devices Inc. announcea that it is taking orders for its new IonWorks Barracuda™ Automated Patch Clamp System.

Following the tradition of IonWorks® Systems before it, this new system delivers the highest throughput for automated electrophysiology analysis available at the lowest cost per data point. It also incorporates the patent-pending Population Patch Clamp™ (PPC) Recording Technology that revolutionized ion channel screening and has become the standard for directed library and hit-to-lead applications.

The IonWorks Barracuda System can screen both voltage-gated and rapidly-desensitizing ligand-gated ion channels due to the unique design of the Patch Plate Consumable and an electrode plate that enables researchers to add compound while recording. In addition, the system can generate more than 1,100 data points per hour as a result of being able to add compounds and record from 384-wells simultaneously.

Measuring from 384 wells in parallel means that researchers can now complete a screening experiment in as little as 20 minutes, making the new IonWorks Barracuda System the technology of choice for drug discovery programs focused on ion channel targets. No other system on the market today can provide the same combination of throughput and low cost per data point for screening large, directed compound libraries against ion channel targets via direct electrophysiology assays. Because of the low running costs of IonWorks platforms the system can pay for itself in as few as three directed library screens compared to other automated electrophysiology platforms. The system is also well suited for follow-on studies, such as hit-to-lead, compound profiling, and safety assessments.

“This System is the ideal screening solution for cardiovascular, metabolic, central nervous system, and immune function drug discovery programs,” said Mark Verheyden, President of Molecular Devices. “Ion channels have long been implicated in these disorders, yet they remain a largely unexplored target class due to a historical lack of practical technologies that provided the required throughput. Now, with the IonWorks Barracuda Platform, drug discovery researchers can screen large, directed libraries against both types of ion channels via direct electrophysiology assays affordably, giving them the technology they need to discover new chemical entities that could one day be used to improve the lives of people afflicted with these debilitating disorders.”