Media Supplement for Giant Synapse Culture

TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION

Generally synapses are small limiting experiments both which can be performed on them and those experiments to short term experiments conducted on large numbers of synapses rather than individual synapses.
The media supplement of this technology makes it possible to culture a synapse of the central nervous system, the calyx of Held developed with vivo-like morphological and physiological properties. The giant synapse is large enough to allow experiments, which would not otherwise be performed. This offers an ideal model for the identification of new signalling pathways in synapse regulation and development and the identification of novel drug targets for neurological disorders.

BENEFITS

- Long-term experiments: up to 30 days c.f. 1 day for brain slice culture
- Efficient in-vitro drug screening
- Access to a single synapse: volume is 2,000 greater than conventional synapses

LIMITATIONS

N.A.

APPLICATIONS

Model for identification of new neural signalling pathways
Identification of novel neural drug targets

MATERIALS