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This study describes the design and various physiological applications of a simple device to rapidly change the solution surrounding a single intact cardiac cell. It consists of a short length of double-barreled glass tubing (theta-tubing) attached to a miniature solenoid. A cell is positioned in one of two parallel streams of solution that simultaneously flow from each barrel. Rapid solution switching is achieved by activation of the solenoid that directs the adjacent stream over the cell, changing the bulk solution within 7 ms. Approximately 150 ms were required to change the solution at the membrane surface of guinea pig ventricular cells, judging from potassium-induced changes in resting membrane potential. This delayed response was probably due to, in part, restricted diffusion in the transverse tubular system. The switching speed of this device makes it possible to change extracellular solutions during action potentials and voltage-clamp pulses.
Spitzer et al. (Wed,) studied this question.