Making patch-pipettes and sharp electrodes with a programmable puller

Abstract

Glass microelectrodes (also called pipettes) have been a workhorse of electrophysiology for decades. Today, such pipettes are made from glass capillaries using a programmable puller. Such instruments heat the capillary using either a metal filament or a laser and draw out the glass using gravity, a motor or both. Pipettes for patch-clamp recording are formed using only heat and gravity, while sharp electrodes for intracellular recording use a combination of heat, gravity, and a motor. The procedure used to make intracellular recording pipettes is similar to that used to make injection needles for a variety of applications, including cRNA injection into Xenopus oocytes. In general, capillary glass <1.2 mm in diameter is used to make pipettes for patch clamp recording, while narrower glass is used for intracellular recording (outer diameter = 1.0 mm). For each tool, the puller is programmed slightly differently. This video shows how to make both kinds of recording pipettes using pre-established puller programs.