Patch-Clamp Capacitance Measurements

Not only electrical conductance but also electrical capacitance of the cell membrane can be measured by patch-clamp techniques. Exocytotic events can be detected by recording changes in membrane capacitance. The membrane capacitance, which reflects the surface area of the plasma membrane, increases during an exocytotic process by fusion of secretory granules to the plasma membrane. In this chapter, we describe the patch-clamp method for measuring capacitance.