Electrophysiological methods and in particular, the current clamp and voltage clamp techniques, provide the best temporal resolution for functional analysis of excitable cells. Intracellular recording methods typically target the postsynaptic cell, and allow high precision analysis of somatodendritic function. PDMS-based microfluidic technologies have been developed for high-throughput electrophysiological studies [52,53]. In these applications, precisely engineered microfluidic junctions in a chip substitute the conventionally used glass electrode, allowing simultaneous patch clamp recordings to be made from a large number of cultured cells. These techniques have been combined to fast precisely controlled application of pharmacological substances, such as neurotransmitters. For example, a combination of microcontact-printed microstructured chips (with strict geometrical control over the network architecture) aligned with a microfluidic device for accurate application of chemical stimulants was used for whole-cell patch clamp recording in reconstructed networks of cortical neurons [54]. Moreover, loose patch clamp technique built on a PDMS device for spatial isolation of soma and neurites was developed to detect multi-unit activity of neurons [55].
