1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a membrane electrochemical signal detection system, more particularly, the present invention relates to a membrane electrochemical signal detection system for detecting an electrochemical physiological signal of a membrane protein.
2. Description of Related Art
In any organism, the cell membrane transports many kinds of substances to regulate various physiological functions. As a result, the studies about cell membrane are widely conducted by many researchers from the entire world. Cells are isolated systems since the cell membrane isolates the inner and outer environments of the cells. Therefore, the transportation of substances between the inner and outer sides of the cell membrane is an interesting bio-energy phenomenon.
For example, in cellular respiration and photosynthesis, energy is generated in an organism through the ability to capture the ion flow across the cell membrane. The ion flow will cause voltage differences that will allow active transportation of substances and cell migration.
The constant pH value in an organism is maintained by the proton pumps of the cell membrane. These proton pumps are able to control the input and output of the protons to produce different proton gradients inside and outside of the cell membrane. The differences in the pH values of the cytoplasm and organelles are the energy sources for many biological reactions.
Energy is required for the transportation of substances by membrane proteins. Such an energy source can be provided by the proton gradient or the active transporting pumps (such as H+ATPase) of the cell membrane. The transportation of substances across the cell membrane may be performed by exchanging substances across the cell membrane.
The purposes of the transportation mechanisms described above are to maintain the ionic homeostasis within the cytoplasm and to regulate the metabolism in organisms. The acid-base gradient within the cytoplasm plays an important role as a driving force for the transportation of nutrients from the outside of the cells to the inside of the cells. Thus, the studies of the structures and the reaction mechanisms of the membrane proteins as well as the transportation of the coupled protons have drawn the attentions of many researchers for further investigations.
However, the studies of the membrane protein transport channels are often accompanied by difficulties in the positioning of the membrane proteins and in the confirmation of the membrane protein structures. Consequently, the electrochemical physiological signals from both sides of the membrane proteins are often detected from a large area of the membrane surface. It is often difficult to detect a single membrane protein or a specific area on the cell membrane. Hence, a more accurate detection system is needed to study the mechanisms for the transportation of substances by membrane proteins.