So far, patch clamp technology has become a routine method of modern cell electrophysiology. It can not only be used as a tool for basic biomedical research, but also serve clinical medical research directly or indirectly.

At present, patch clamp technology is widely used in neuroscience, cardiovascular science, pharmacology, cell biology, pathophysiology, traditional Chinese medicine, plant cell physiology, exercise physiology and other multidisciplinary fields.

With the emergence of automatic patch clamp technology, patch clamp technology has shown great vitality in drug research and development and drug screening because of its automation and Qualcomm characteristics. The important role of (1) patch clamp technology in channel research

Patch clamp technology can directly observe and distinguish the current of a single ion channel and its opening and closing time, distinguish the ion selectivity of ion channels, and discover new ion channels and subtypes. On the basis of recording the single cell current and the whole cell current, the channel number and opening probability on the cell membrane can be further calculated. It can also be used to study the influence of some intracellular or extracellular substances on the opening and closing of ion channels and channel current. At the same time, it is used to study the transmembrane transduction and cell secretion mechanism of cell signals. Combined with molecular cloning and site-directed mutagenesis, patch clamp technique can be used to study the relationship between molecular structure and biological function of ion channels.

Patch clamp technique can also be used to analyze the site of action of drugs on their target receptors. For example, neuronal nicotinic receptors are ligand-gated ion channels, and patch-clamp whole-cell recording technology can directly reflect the whole process of neuronal nicotinic receptor activity by recording nicotine-induced currents, including the affinity of receptors with their agonists and antagonists, the dynamic characteristics of ion channel opening and closing, and the desensitization of receptors. Patch clamp whole cell recording technique was used to observe the effect of antagonist on dose-effect curve excited by nicotine receptor, so as to determine the dynamic characteristics of its action. Then, according to the analysis of the effect of antagonists on receptor desensitization, we can distinguish the different action sites of antagonists on nicotine receptors from the function, that is, judge whether antagonists act on agonist recognition sites, ion channels or other allosteric sites of receptors.

(2) myocardial ion channels related to drug action

Myocardial cells maintain the steady state of membrane potential and action potential through various ion channels to maintain normal function. In recent years, foreign scholars have made a lot of progress in the study of ion channel characteristics of human myocardial cells, which makes it possible to carry out myocardial pharmacological experiments from animal cell models to human myocardial cells.

(3) Study on ion channel mechanism under physiological and pathological conditions.

By studying the characteristics of an ion channel on cell membrane under various physiological or pathological conditions, we can understand the physiological significance of the ion and its mechanism in the process of disease. For example, the study on the mechanism of calcium ion in nerve cell injury after cerebral ischemia shows that Ca2+ plays a very important role in the process of ischemic brain injury. Ischemia and hypoxia open Ca2+ channels, and too much Ca2+ enters cells, which leads to damage of neurons and cell membranes, dysfunction of membrane transport, and serious necrosis of neurons.

(4) Study on the relationship between morphology and function of single cell.

Patch clamp technology is combined with single cell reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction technology. Under the whole-cell patch clamp record, the contents of a single cell or the whole cell (including the cell membrane) are sucked into the electrode, and all kinds of mRNA existing in the cell are quickly reverse transcribed into cDNA, and then the specific mRNA to be detected is amplified by conventional PCR, so that the results with similar morphology but different electrical activity can be explained at the molecular level, or samples can be provided for single-cell reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and the fact that the morphology is very similar but the structure is the same but the function is different at the molecular level can be provided. At present, few laboratories in the world have mastered this technology, and Peking University Institute of Neuroscience takes the lead in China 1994.

(5) Study on the mechanism of drug action.

In the recording of channel current, different concentrations of drugs can be applied at different time and different parts (inside or outside the membrane) to study their possible effects on channel function, so as to understand the molecular mechanism of drugs that selectively act on channels and affect human and animal physiological functions. This is the most widely used field of patch clamp technology at present, which not only discusses the mechanism of western medicine, but also is widely used in the research of important pharmacology. As reported by Kaili et al., panaxadiol saponins can inhibit the opening of L-type calcium channels in normal and "ischemia" induced rat cerebral cortex neurons, thus reducing calcium influx, which may have a protective effect on ischemic cells. Chen Long et al. reported that aconitine could block L-type calcium channels in cultured ventricular myocytes of Wistar rats by single-channel recording of cell attachment.

(6) Application in cardiovascular pharmacology research

With the wide application of patch clamp technology in cardiovascular diseases, not only the understanding of vascular diseases and drug effects is constantly updated, but also many new viewpoints are formed in its etiology and pharmacology. As the Nobel Foundation said at the time of awarding the prize, "Naeher and Sadman's contributions are conducive to understanding the mechanisms of different diseases and opening the way for developing new and more effective drugs".

(7) Innovative drug research and Qualcomm screening.

At present, Qualcomm screening of ion channels is mainly primary screening, with large sample size, dominant screening speed and low information requirements. In recent years, two mainstream technology markets based on patch clamp and fluorescent probe have been formed respectively. Combining the characteristics of large amount of information and high sensitivity of electrophysiological research with automation and miniaturization technology, some new technologies such as automatic patch clamp have been produced.

(8) Application in Neuroscience

The combination of patch clamp technique and brain slice technique in vitro can be used to study the ion channels and synaptic connections of neurons, which has irreplaceable advantages compared with cultured or acutely dispersed neurons.