1991 - Erwin Neher, Bert Sakmann

How are ion channels built and how do they contribute to changing the cell's potential?

Ion channels consist of single proteins or complexes of proteins that form the wall of the channel, crossing the cell's membrane and connecting the interior of the cell with its exterior. The diameter of the ion channel corresponds to the width of only one single ion, thus it is incredibly small, making it very difficult to study channels' existence and properties, which is just what Neher and Sakmann managed to do. They showed that chemical activation of the receptor part of the channel, or when a specific part of the channel senses changes in membrane potential, the channel opens or closes immediately by changing the shape of the channel molecule. They also demonstrated that channels are specific for certain ions. Neher and Sakmann developed a technique to record the very small electrical currents (10-12A) that pass through a single ion channel. This recording technique forms the basis for most modern electrophysiology.