Hello,
I hope to choose a silver wire for my whole-cell patch clamp recordings. There are two types in the lab right now: one with diameter of 0.37 mm and the other 0.2 mm. I am wondering how the diameter of the silver wire matters for recording, and which one is better?
Many thanks!
It depends on the diameter of the hole in the o-rings inside the pipette holder that you are using. These can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
As long as the silver wire is properly Chlorided and you are not doing craziily long depolarizations that will decholride the wire it will work whichever you use. Using the larger diameter wire may give an increased surface area on which the electrons can exchange with the AgCl but for most patch clamp applications it should not make a difference.
Thanks a lot! That was very helpful!