Scientific Instruments Heidelberg

The Muscle Research System MKB is primarily designed for intact living muscle preparations. It combines the versatility of the KG transducer series with a solid platform for mechanical and optical measurements on intact muscle. The system can also be used for skinned preparations, thus providing one platform that spans nearly the entire muscle physiology field. It can be equipped with photometers, laser diode and linear motor. A range of perfusion cuvette and temperature control options provide a wide range of possible applications.

KEY FEATURES:

• Mechanically stable platform for advanced mechanical & optical muscle studies
• Complete turnkey system with data recording & analysis available
• Expandable with linear motor for muscle length perturbation studies
• Expandable with a stimulator & tetanizer for intact muscle stimulation
• Expandable with a photometer for intracellular calcium studies
• Expandable with cuvette systems for intact muscle rapid cooling contractures
• Expandable with a temperature jump system for skinned muscle fibers
• Expandable with a Gradient maker for calcium studies

• Expandable with a laser diode for sarcomere spacing studies in contracting muscle.

• Expandable with laser controlled perfusion system for highly accurate low force measurements
• Expandable in the future due to its modular design

KEY EXPERIMENTS / MUSCLE Parameters:

1)      Measure intact muscle responses to electrical stimulation or tetanus. Measure myomechanical properties of contracting and relaxing muscle strips. An ergometer can be used to perform after-loaded contractions in heart muscle and to perform eccentric contractions. background information

2)      Twitch amplitude and kinetics analysis, time to peak, (50%) relaxation velocities, starling curve, diastolic force development with Software Muscledata..

3)      A linear motor plus control units can be adapted to measure mechanical muscle properties such as Slack-test, Isotonic release, Constant velocity release, Stretch release, vibration and after-loaded contractions (intact muscle) background information

4)      A gradient maker can be fitted for automated force-pCA studies
background information

5)      Simultaneous measurement of the Sarcomere length is possible by laser diode diffraction. This can be combined with calcium measurement
background information

Instrument Control can be via hardware Motor Action Control Panel so you can use your own data acquisition system and software, or via our integrated package DAS/MuscleData/Gradient; it  will control all hardware and will record all muscle data and optical recordings.

For brochure download, please click here!