Center for Quantiative Biological Simulation Microphysiology Gateway

CQBS Research: Biomedical Application Projects

Simulation of ion-selective electrode measurements of single ion channel properties.
This collaborative project is directed by investigators at the Biocurrents Research Center at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory.  The Biocurrents group develops ion-selective electrodes with very fast response times, and is presently investigating single ion channel properties obtained from bulk solution recordings of ion fluxes.  One problem is to determine what the ionic gradients look like in the space surrounding and between cells and how disease states (e.g., diabetes) affect such flux profiles. Spatially realistic MCell/DReAMM simulations are now being coupled to real time measurements of boundary conditions, and the next steps will be to build more complex models with defined channel distributions and pump and transporter activities.  This collaboration between the Biocurrents Research Center and the CQBS will enable real time measurements of cellular ionic currents, interpreted through simulations that reveal single channel properties.

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