Long term stability is a striking feature of whole cell preparations which can be attributed to the high seal
stability observed.

More than 80% of the whole cell preparations are still intact after >15 min.. Another striking difference when comparing the new method to conventional patch clamping is the low and stable access resistance, resulting in negligible
voltage error and high voltage clamp quality.
Using tips with 0.9±0.1MOhm tip resistance, the series resistance is only 2.7±0.5MOhm (n=355, CHO cells) and remains completely stable throughout the entire recording. This is in contrast to conventional patch clamp experiments, where series resistance after break-in tends to increase from 5 to 20 MOhm within 15 min. depending on cell type
and intracellular saline composition. This advantage over other patch clamp methods is due to the different geometry of the glass in which the seal is formed. When using Flyscreen^® , no disrupted membrane fragments are left floating inside the narrow opening. Therefore, Flyscreen^® is perfectly suited to compare current readings before and after the addition of a drug during a screening run. Typical concerns about voltage errors and other artifacts developing over time with conventional whole cell experiments are virtually eliminated.

Furthermore, the Flyscreen^® technique eliminates the need for consecutive suction pulses during the recording. Other patch clamp techniques often require repeated suction in order to keep access resistance low, risking seal loss and stretch-induced artifacts during the experiment.