8 hours unattended hERG run with ≥97% success rate and consistent pharmacology results

The cardiac ion channel encoded by KCNH2, also known as the human ether-à-go-go-related gene (hERG) or KV11.1 can lead to cardiac arrhythmia when blocked and is thus a major off-target in drug discovery. Mutations in this channel can lead to congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS), associated with an irregular heartbeat, fainting and sudden cardiac arrest.
Automated patch clamp (APC) allows assessing the effects of compounds on the hERG channel in the preclinical development process, enabling an early evaluation in drug development. Unattended runs – as we show here on the Qube – are a crucial advantage by saving time and resources. We here report the results of an overnight run with CHO-hERG-Duo (B’SYS) cells at 25˚C, made possible by the Qube supplemented with stacker function and temperature control.