Core Facilities / Infrastruktur
COMPCEL (Competence Center for Electrophysiology)
COMPCEL is the technical-methodological Competence Center for Electrophysiology of the Paracelsus Medical University (PMU).
Aim and Scope
The purpose of COMPCEL is to offer professional support and infrastructure for implementing scientific electrophysiological experiments for scientists, working groups, and research projects at the PMU scientific locations of Salzburg and Nürnberg and beyond. The unique expertise and know-how of COMPCEL will offer unprecedented opportunities to explore and solve electrophysiological questions with experimental models ranging from single biomolecules and cells to tissues and up to the whole experimental animal.
COMPCEL is an initiative of the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, the Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology and the Institute of Experimental Neuroregeneration (PMU Salzburg) and the Institute of Physiology, Pathophysiology and Biophysics (PMU Nürnberg).
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Sébastien COUILLARD-DESPRES (Institute of Experimental Neuroregeneration, PMU Salzburg, Austria)
- Priv.-Doz. Silvia DOSSENA, Ph.D. (Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, PMU Salzburg, Austria)
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dr. Boris MUSSET (Institute of Physiology, Pathophysiology and Biophysics, PMU Nuremberg, Germany)
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. med.univ. Markus RITTER (Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology, PMU Salzburg, Austria)
- Bruno BENEDETTI, PhD, Senior Postdoc and deputy head of the Institute of Experimental Neuroregeneration, PMU Salzburg
- Prof. Mag. Dr. Martin JAKAB, deputy head of the Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology, PMU Salzburg
- PD Silvia DOSSENA, PhD, interim director of the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, PMU Salzburg
- Dr. Gustavo CHAVES-BARBOZA Dr. rer. nat., head of the electrophysiology unit at the Institute of Physiology, Pathophysiology and Biophysics, PMU Nürnberg
- Conventional or perforated patch-clamp in whole-cell configuration (voltage-clamp and current-clamp recordings)
- Single-channel patch-clamp
- Combined patch-clamp and fluorescence measurements
- ´Tip-Dip´ patch-clamping of reconstituted rheogenic ion transporter proteins in artificial lipid bilayers
- Membrane potential measurements by fluorescent probes (plasma membrane, mitochondrial potential)
- Short-circuit current measurements
- Auditory Brainstem Recordings
- Acute slice preparation (supporting various brain regions of neonatal/young / adult/mouse/rat)
- Single-cell patch clamp on acute brain slice preparation (optionally combined with red or green fluorescence)
The equipment part of COMPCEL as well as the supporting infrastructure and personnel can be found here.
A detailed description of the concept, structure, added value, scientific expertise, and organization of COMPCEL can be found here.
Requests to access COMPCEL shall be project-oriented, specific, and realistic in terms of feasibility and duration in time. The requests shall be emailed to the COMPCEL administrative assistant Mrs. Elisabeth MOOSLECHNER (e.mooslechner@pmu.ac.at).