The second annual ion channel retreat.

Ion channels are a key therapeutic target class that are relatively unexplored. New technologies and tools are enabling the interrogation of this target class for drug discovery and development. We present a summary here of the Aurora Biomed-sponsored Ion Channel Retreat held in June 2004 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Atomic absorption spectroscopy in ion channel screening.

This article examines the utility of atomic absorption spectroscopy, in conjunction with cold flux assays, to ion channel screening. The multiplicity of ion channels that can be interrogated using cold flux assays and atomic absorption spectroscopy is summarized. The importance of atomic absorption spectroscopy as a screening tool is further elaborated upon by providing examples of the relevance of ion channels to various physiological processes and targeted diseases.

Development of an HTS assay for Na+, K+-ATPase using nonradioactive rubidium ion uptake.

A high-throughput screening (HTS) assay was developed for the Na(+),K(+)-ATPase channel in order to study rubidium uptake as a measure of the functional activity and modulation of this exchanger. The assay uses elemental rubidium as a tracer for K(+) ions. Three cell lines were used to study the exchanger, and the assay was performed in a 96-well microtiter plate format.