Editing Patch clamp (section)

=== Inside-out patch ===
[[File:Inside-Out Patch Clamp.png|thumb|right|upright=1.3|Inside-out patch configuration]]
In the inside-out method, a patch of the membrane is attached to the patch pipette, detached from the rest of the cell, and the [[cytosol|cytosolic surface]] of the membrane is exposed to the external media, or bath.<ref name=Veitinger>{{cite journal|last1=Veitinger|first1=Sophie|title=The Patch-Clamp Technique|url=http://www.leica-microsystems.com/science-lab/the-patch-clamp-technique/|website=Science Lab|publisher=Leica Microsystems|access-date=November 10, 2014|date=2011-11-09}}</ref> One advantage of this method is that the experimenter has access to the intracellular surface of the membrane via the bath and can change the chemical composition of what the inside surface of the membrane is exposed to. This is useful when an experimenter wishes to manipulate the environment at the intracellular surface of single ion channels. For example, channels that are activated by intracellular ligands can then be studied through a range of ligand concentrations.

To achieve the inside-out configuration, the pipette is attached to the cell membrane as in the cell-attached mode, forming a gigaseal, and is then retracted to break off a patch of membrane from the rest of the cell. Pulling off a membrane patch often results initially in the formation of a [[Vesicle (biology and chemistry)|vesicle]] of membrane in the pipette tip, because the ends of the patch membrane fuse together quickly after excision. The outer face of the vesicle must then be broken open to enter into inside-out mode; this may be done by briefly taking the membrane through the bath solution/air interface, by exposure to a low [[calcium|Ca<sup>2+</sup>]] solution, or by momentarily making contact with a droplet of [[paraffin wax|paraffin]] or a piece of cured [[silicone]] polymer.<ref name=Ogden>{{cite web|last1=Ogden|first1=David|last2=Stanfield|first2=Peter|title=Patch Clamp Techniques|url=http://www.utdallas.edu/~tres/microelectrode/microelectrodes_ch04.pdf|website=utdallas.edu|access-date=November 11, 2014|pages=53–78}}</ref>