Amplifiers for BLM and cell electrophysiology.
Basic  BBA-02 PA-300  Model Cells
Basic BLM amplifiers.

Do you really need $10,000 amplifier for your BLM project?  For those who do not need all the bells and whistles of an expensive machine we are offering this basic model.  Our popular BBA-01A amplifier just get some nice improvements, new face and new features.  Now it has build in circuit that generate test signal for easy monitoring of a membrane thinning.  Experts will agree that this amplifier sufficient for more than 50% of BLM studies. Remote headstage (HS-1B) contain I/V converter based on a low noise operational amplifier with 1gOhm feedback resistor.  Bottom side of the headstage has two gold plated (1 mm diam.) female connectors, 12 mm apart, for direct mounting of a pair of EAG-01 or other electrodes and M3 screw for mounting and grounding.  Headstage connected to the control unit with ~1.2 m (4') cable. Signal Output, VBLM and External Command BNC connectors are located on the rear panel.  While membrane potential is displayed in the scale of 10 turn potentiometer it is also possible to connect Signal Output BNC connector to  DM-312 voltmeter via  BAB-3* adapter cable; any other digital multimeter with 200 mV scale also may be used.
Dual version of this amplifier has two HS-1B headstages connected to the control unit so that the command potential is the same on both membranes.  It make possible to run two experiments in parallel, compare parameters literally side by side or accumulate statistics almost twice as fast as with a single channel amplifier.

Part Number: BBA-01A/B (Single channel); BBA-01D (Dual channel)
* -Adapter cable is required for interconnecting amplifier BNC output to "banana" type multimeter input.


BBA-02 Amplifier.
BBA-02 has all the necessary features for complex planar bilayer research, and cost a fraction of what you have to pay for a comparable amplifier on the market.  Compared to basic BBA-01A model it has much improved frequency range, and a number of new features: gain multiplier, built-in low pass Bessel filter, membrane capacitance and electrode offset potential compensation.  It is compact, reliable, and simple to operate.   BBA-02 amplifier consists of the control unit and the headstage.  Two versions of the headstage are available.  HS-2 headstage has gain of 1 mV/pA and is suitable for current measurements from ~0.1 pA to ~10 nA.   HS-2A gain can be set to either 1 or 0.1 mV/pA by the mechanical micro switch located on top of the unit.  Both headstages have two 1 mm gold plated female connectors for direct connection of  EAG-01 or other electrodes, and overall design optimized for use in planar bilayer systems.
Part # BBA-2 (with HS-2); BBA-2A (with HS-2A)

SPECIFICATIONS:

Headstage
 
HS-1A/B
HS-2
HS-2A
Gain, mV/pA 
1
1
0.1/1
Input bias current, pA 
<1
< 1
< 1
Noise, mV*
<3
< 1
<0.3/<1
@0.1/1 pA/mV
Frequency range, kHz** 
0-0.3
0-55 
0-30/0-90
@1/0.1 pA/mV
Dimensions,  cm
6x3x2.5
6x3x2.5
6x3x2.5
Control Unit
BBA-01A BBA-01B/D BBA-02/2A
Potential on membrane, mV  0 to +/- 200 0 to +/- 200 0 to +/- 200;  0 to +/- 500
Offset potential comp., mV -- --  >= +/- 15
Gain Multiplier -- --  x 2, x 5
Filter  -- -- 40 dB, low pass, Bessel. 1 kHz; 5 kHz, 
Electrode series 
resistance compensation, kOhm		 -- -- 0-50 
Membrane capacitance 
compensation, pF		 -- -- 0-500 
Max. output voltage, V +/- 10  +/- 10  +/- 10 
Test signal  -- 5 mV, 50/60 Hz, rectangular 5 mV, 50/60 Hz, rectangular
Dimensions 13x13x4 cm (5"x5"x1.5") 17x17x7 cm (7"x7"x2.5") 20x6.5x16 cm (8"x2.5"x6.5")
Power  AC 15/230V,
3 W.		 AC 15/230V,
3 W.		 AC 115/230 V, 
6 W.
* Peak to peak, with 1 kHz low pass filter. Measured with open input.
** at 3 dB nonlinearity.

PicoAmp 300 is the most sophisticated amplifier for planar bilayer research we offer. It is probably the only amplifier on the market, optimized for BLM research, and it can also be used in a variety of electro physiology applications.  In addition to functions available in BBA-02 model (membrane capacitance/electrode resistance compensation circuit, offset potential compensation, gain multiplier, and built-in low pass Bessel filter) it has build-in DC and RMS meter, ramp and rectangular pulse generator, membrane break detection circuit with audio alarm and more.  These additions allow several common tasks in BLM experimentation to be performed easily and without connection of an external devices.  Membrane capacitance can be read directly from the display or recorded continuously as DC voltage from the rear BNC output.  Incorporated ultra low frequency generator allow to perform basic I/V recordings, or repeatedly reverse potential applied to BLM for studies of the potential dependencies of channel incorporation.  Audio control module facilitate monitoring of the membrane thinning process and provide loud warning when membrane is broke.  We even added 3.5 mm audio input jack for your MP3/CD player to be integrated with the amplifier research grade sound system :-).  Like BBA-02, PicoAmp-300 amplifier consists of the control unit and the headstage.  Standard hedstage is HS-2 but if you are thinking about high conductance BLM experiments HS-2A might be better.  The headstage has two 1 mm gold plated female connectors for direct connection of the EAG-01 or other electrodes.
Part # PA-300


Picoamp-300B
This amplifier is a modification of PA-300 model.  In standard configuration it is equipped with new HS-2C headstage (shown on top of the unit) designed for cell electrophysiology.  This head stage has AxonTM type threaded connector for stable and easy microelectrode mounting, 1 mm diameter gold plated connector for ground electrode and 2-56 screw for system ground.  Headstage connect to the amplifier with our standard RJ-45 connector and in principle, is compatible with PA300B, basic PA-300 and even with BBA-02 units.  However, "B" model amplifier has added Zap circuit which generate short pulses of membrane breaking voltage and that is quite useful for converting cell "patch" to "whole cell" configuration.   This make PA-300B truly universal for both basic cell electrophysiology applications and for BLM research.  Once you decided to get to the basic of cellular phenomena using artificial lipid bilayers, you only need to replace HS-2C headstage with HS-2 or HS-2A, no recalibration required.
 
 

SPECIFICATIONS:

Control Unit
Potential on membrane 0 to +/- 200 mV ;  0 to +/- 500 mV
Offset potential comp.  >= +/- 15 mV  (>= +/- 50 mV for PA300B)
Gain Multiplier  x 2, x 5
Filter  40 dB, low pass, Bessel. 1 kHz; 5 kHz, 
Electrode series 
resistance compensation 		 0-50 kOhm
Zap pulse duration 2-50 ms  (PA300B only)
Max. output voltage +/- 10 V
Display VBLM/VOUT; DC/RMS, 0-200 mV/ 0-2V
50/60 Hz test signals  Selectable 5 mV  rectangular; ~ 10 mV triangular
Ultra low frequency test signals Selectable 0 to +/- 200;  0 to +/- 500; rectangular/triangular; 1/2/4 min. period
Dimensions 42x9x20 cm (17"x3.5"x8")
Power  AC 115/230 V, 6 W.
Headstage
 
HS-2
HS-2A
HS-2C
Gain, mV/pA 
1
0.1/1
1
Input bias current, pA 
< 1
< 1
<1
Noise, pA * 
< 1
<0.3/<1
@0.1/1 pA/mV
<1
Frequency range, kHz **
0-55
0-30/0-90 
@1/0.1 pA/mV
0-55
Membrane capacitance 
compensation
0-500 pF
0-500 pF
0-50 pF
Zap pulse amplitude (mV)
600
600
600/1300
Dimensions,  cm
6x3x2.5
6x3x2.5
D 1.6, L 10

* Peak to peak, with 1 kHz low pass filter. Measured with open input.
** at 3 dB nonlinearity.


Model Cells
These model cells contain equivalent circuit of a planar bilayer membrane and can be used for testing BLM system performance in a defined conditions.  MB-1 is a simple equivalent of non-conductive bilayer. It has 22 kOhm resistor (to model electrodes series resistance) and 200-300 pF calibrated capacitor (exact value is printed on a cell).  MB-2 cell has two more resistors that can be connected to the basic circuit by toggle switch adding 10 or 100 nS conductance in parallel with capacitor.  Cells are in non-metallic enclosures and have ~8 cm long wire leads with 1 mm diameter male gold plated connectors.  They can be placed on a regular BLM cell holder for testing the quality of electromagnetic screening, or for system calibration.
 
 



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 12-21-2007  BLMAmpl.html