Brain Slice Electrophysiology

Scientists working

Our Brain Slice Electrophysiology platform has been the world leader of in vitro slice electrophysiological assays dedicated to CNS and PNS pharmacology.

We have a unique expertise in Patch Clamp and Multi Electrode Array recordings from brain and spinal cord acute slices.
For 16+ years, we’ve been providing an exceptional expertise for the design, performance and analysis of complex electrophysiological/pharmacological protocols.

Thanks to our large bandwidth and short turnarounds, we provide functional data from brain and spinal cord to accelerate your CNS Drug Discovery programs until the IND claim.

Electrophysiological recordings of acute brain slices, spinal cord slices, and cultured neurons.

Our slice electrophysiology platform has more than 16 years of experience in building and performing Patch Clamp and Multi Electrode Array recording protocols. We investigate your compounds’ effects on neuronal networks and single neurons.
Depending on the pathology targeted by your compound, our researchers will work collaboratively with your team to propose protocols related to a region of interest. By isolating a brain region and performing the most adapted protocol, we reveal your compound’s properties: pharmacological properties, target(s), Mechanism(s) of Action, and safety issues.

Our recording protocols include:

  • Spontaneous firing activities
  • Evoked-responses (electrical or chemical stimulations)
  • Synaptic transmission
  • Short-term plasticity
  • Long-term synaptic plasticity

We can investigate more subtle parameters such as miniature excitatory or inhibitory currents or perform single-channels recordings. Our protocols allow documenting the profile of agonists, partial agonists, inverse agonists, competitive and non-competitive antagonists, positive or negative allosteric modulators.

We record from various rodent and human tissue:

  • Cloned Channels and Receptors
  • Rodent Brain Neuron Cultures
  • Rodent Brain Slices
  • Human Brain Slices

 

Our techniques & models

Patch Clamp

Neuroservices-Alliance is a world-renowned leader in Patch Clamp electrophysiology. The Patch Clamp technique allows the in vitro evaluation of compounds under the most physiologically relevant conditions.

Neuroservice Expertise patch clamp

Multi Electrode Array

Multi Electrode Array (MEA) is mid-throughput technique enabling parallel and multi-site extra-cellular recordings within a single brain slice. Multi Electrode Array is the adequate technique to get an exceptional macroscopic view of neuronal networks.

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Multi Electrode Array brain slice

High-Density MEA

High Density Multi Electrode Array system provides high-quality recording data at sub-cellular resolution from neuronal cultures. Thanks to a partnership with Maxwell Biosystems, we benefit from the MaxTwo system, a high-throughput recording equipment with 6 recordings wells.

Thanks to High Density MEA, Neuroservice helps understand the global firing activity of your neuronal culture and determine the validity of your culture.

macroscopic view of neurons on MEA plate

Neuroservice's models

We have a long experience in characterizing genetically-modified rodents (mice or rats) for many neurodegenerative and neuro-muscular diseases.

Compounds can be evaluated in brain slices or spinal cord slices prepared from commercially available transgenic mice or rats (acute exposure or chronic exposure).

Recordings can be performed in slices prepared from rats (up to 18 months) or mice (up to 24 months).

Multi Electrode Array brain slice

Our pain expertise

We have dedicated assays for pain-killer compounds: cultured rodent sensory neurons (from DRG), spinal cord recordings and discrimination between layers 1-2 and layers 4-5 in the dorsal horn.

Based on the MEA technique, we also provide a quick screening assay on capsaicin-evoked firing activity (validated with reference compounds).

SLICE ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY OFFER

Download the one-pager for a comprehensive overview of our in vitro electrophysiology solutions for CNS and Pain preclinical drug discovery.

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CASE STUDY - EPILEPSY

in vitro model for pro- or anti- epileptic drug profiling

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CASE STUDY - PAIN

Profiling of painkiller drugs

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CASE STUDY - NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES

Tg rodent phenotyping

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CASE STUDY - PATCH CLAMP RECORDING OF STRIATAL SLICES - mEPSCs

We have strong experience in characterizing electrophysiological properties of MSNs in HD mouse models (including R6/2 and zQ175) with or without chronic dosing treatments or acute compound exposure.

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DATA SHEET - WE SUPPORT RESEARCH PROGRAMS TARGETING CATION-CHLORIDE COTRANSPORTERS

Using the perforated patch-clamp technique, we can provide experimental scientific support to drug discovery programs targeting cation-chloride cotransporters.

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Brain Slice Electrophysiology Experts

Jeffrey Hubbard, PhD
CSO in vitro slice
electrophysiology
Alexander Barre, Phd
Patch Clamp Engineer
Andréas Hoehne, PhD
Patch Clamp Engineer
Benoît Buisson
Software Developer
Camille Bonnin
Patch Clamp Engineer
Camille Sanson
Patch Clamp Engineer
Fabrice Robert
Head of Animal Facilities
Florian Gackiere, Phd
Patch Clamp Engineer
Hélène Savinel
MEA Engineer
Julien Artinian, PhD
Patch Clamp Engineer
Luiza Philipis, PhD
Patch Clamp Engineer
Naomie Touron
MEA Technician
Bruno Buisson, PhD
Co-Founder, President & CSO
Romain Teyssie
MEA Engineer
Saber Graf
Software Developer
Sungjae Yoo, PhD
Patch Clamp Engineer
Vanessa Veyrier
Patch Clamp Engineer