Fine glass micropipettes are extensively used in intra- and extracellular physiology as a means of recording electrical activity in cells and as channels for injecting a variety of substances for experimental purposes. In 1973, the authors began a course of systematic studies designed to help them improve the capabilities and efficiency of intracellular research using the micropipette technique. Here, they present their theory of how micropipette tips are formed, their methods of reducing tip size, and the implications of their work for research on small cells of all kinds, especially cells within the central nervous system. This text not only incorporates this new work, but reviews and analyzes existing publications on micropipette methodology, including patch-clamping, in order to present as complete an account as possible of how micropipettes can be used efficiently and effectively in a wide variety of experimental situations. The information presented here should prove helpful to anyone performing research with micropipettes, from a graduate student conducting a first project to the most experienced investigator.

Contents

• Micropipettes
  The Flaming/Brown Micropipette Puller:
  Its Background, Design and Underlying Principles
  
  
• Techniques for Examining and
  Measuring Micropipette Tips by Scanning Electron Microscopy
  
  
• Evaluation of Flaming/Brown
  Micropipette Puller
  
  
• A Theory of Micropipette Tip Formation: Quantitative Prediction and
  Validation of the Effects of Capillary Wall Thickness Upon Tip Size

• Effects of a Fused Internal Fiber
  (Omega Dot) Upon Micropipette Tips
  
  
• Minimizing Tip Size With Borosilicate Tubing
  
  
• Beveling Micropipette Tips: Techniques and Applications
  
  
• Filling Micropipettes: Techniques and Solutions
  
  
• Advancing Micropipettes Through Tissues and Into Cells
  
  
• Ancillary Techniques for Conducting Intracellular Research
  
  
• Evaluation of Improved Intracellular Recording Techniques in Vertebrate Photoreceptors
  
  
• Evaluation of Tubing Designs for Intracellular Work
  
  
• The Structure Properties of Glasses for Fabricating Micropipettes
  
  
• Dual-Channel Micropipettes
  
  
• The Burgeoning Field of Patch Clamping
  
  
• Extension of the Flaming/Brown Micropipette Puller to
  Patch Clamping and Conveniently Handling Aluminosilicate Glass
  
  
• References
  
  
• Appendices