Biological Electrochemistry

All of Gamry potentiostats are electrically isolated, allowing you to run highly sensitive experiments within a faraday cage such as Gamry's Faraday Shield with Conductive-glass Window allowing you to  observe your experiment without having to disturb the measurement.

Electrical isolation also allows real-time measurements in biological apparatus such as bioreactors, autoclaves, liquid AFM, TEM where the electrode is grounded.

Gamry potentiostats can be synchronized, allowing you to run multiple electrodes in one solution with low crosstalk. This feature enables high throughput testing for the R&D environment.  It also allows for one of the most flexible bipotentiostat systems on the market—bipotentiostats are frequently used to make accurate electrical and ionic conductivity measurements using electrochemical gating.

Gamry potentiostats are designed to make four-electrode measurements that are important to measure transport across biological membranes and tissue. Four-electrode experiments are used in apparatus such as the Ussing Chamber or in H-cells separated by an ion-selective membrane.

Our data files are saved as common text files, making it easy to use your own analysis software. Our bundled analysis software, Echem Analyst^TM, allows for easy data workup, reporting and charting. Easily compare results or export data for workup in another program.

Gamry Instruments has been producing lower cost, electrically isolated potentiostats since 1989. We have the most comprehensive electrochemical technique library around, including Gamry developed/exclusive experiments. Our software is developed based on fundamental electrochemical theory developed by the electrochemical community.

We are also very willing to share our expertise with our customers. There are Applications Notes which are relevant to biological applications such as our application note on biphasic pulsing. We also have electrochemistry specialists available over email or phone that understand biological testing, and can get you pointed in the right direction.

If you are new to electrochemistry and are interested in using it in a biological system, you may want to start with a quick look at our Application Note on electrochemically active biofilms, and consider enrolling in a short course like the one taught at Washington State University every summer.

Recommended Biological Electrochemistry Systems:

• Neurological interfacing:
  • Reference 620 for its fast sampling rate and low noise capability
  • Action potential propagation and membrane depolarization
• Wearable devices:
  • Interface 1010E for a low-cost quality EIS potentiostat
  • Materials testing
• Implantable devices:
  • Interface 1010E for a low-cost quality EIS potentiostat
  • in vitro device testing
• Microbial fuel cells:
  • Interface 1010E for a low-cost quality EIS potentiostat made for half-cell experiments and bench-scale MFCs
  • Interface 5000E for scaling up systems where higher current is needed at a lower cost, and a dual electrometer supports high-throughput EIS testing.
• Whole cell sensing:
  • Reference 620 for its ultra-low current detection
  • Accurate EIS that can detect the impedance changes when cells attach to the electrode surface
• Biomolecular sensing:
  • Reference 620 for its ultra-low current detection
  • Combined with eQCM, enable both low current detection with real-time mass detection on the order of ng/cm2.
• Ion transport across tissue/membranes:
  • Using chamber and a Reference 620 potentiostat for ultra-low current detection
• Biocorrosion/microbially influenced corrosion:
  • Interface 1010E potentiostat for low-cost quality EIS and comprehensive corrosion technique library
  • Sulfide corrosion, ennoblement, differential aeration cell
• Electrical stimulation:
  • Reference 620 for high sampling rates/high-frequency pulsing
  • Charge injection
• Biofilm detection and eradication:
  • Interface 1010E for a low-cost quality potentiostat with EIS
  • Generating biocides using an electrode