Orbit mini - Plug and Paint
The Orbit mini is a miniaturized bilayer workstation enabling the recording of four artificial lipid bilayers simultaneously. The benefits the Orbit mini setup offers include:
- Standalone turn-key system with extremely small footprint
- Integrated four channel low-noise amplifier
- Optional temperature control - automated active cooling and heating
- Low noise recordings at highest bandwidths
- Increased throughput due to four simultaneous recordings
- Dedicated comprehensive recording software included
- Target molecules can be introduced directly or by fusion of (proteo-)liposomes
- Ion channels: voltage and ligand gated, temperature sensitive
- Nanopores, antimicrobial peptides, toxins and many more...
- Cost-efficient experiments with disposable MECA chips
The Orbit mini contains a built-in, miniaturized four-channel amplifier, allowing low noise recordings at high bandwidth without the need for any additional equipment – you could virtually conduct experiments while travelling by train! Due to the unique design of the Orbit mini, the measurement chamber temperature can be actively controlled without additional noise generation.
The complete Orbit mini platform consists of the main recording unit with a built-in four channel amplifier (Elements s.r.l.), and an optional computer-controlled environmental control unit for active cooling and heating of the recording chamber. Ionera's MECA 4 disposable recording chips are used for manual painting and recording of four artificial lipid bilayers in parallel.
For detailed information:
Add-Ons and Features
Temperature Control Unit
With the temperature control unit, temperatures on the chip can be varied in between 0°C to 50°C, as it contains an active cooling and active heating function.
Temperature control of the Orbit mini: PEG induced current blockages of a alpha-hemolysin pore
(A) Current traces recorded at 10°C and 40°C illustrating a strong increase of the open pore current as well as the blockage frequency at elevated temperature.
(B) Event averaged histograms of the residual current during blockages. The open pore current scales with the temperature as well as the dwell time of the blockages.
(C) Dependence of the open pore current on the temperature.
(D) Dependence of the frequency of blockages on the temperature.
The image war kindly provided by Ionera Technologies GmbH
Orbit mini Fluorescence Microscopy Kit
For fluorescence applications, the Orbit mini can be equipped with the "Fluorescence Microscopy Kit" which includes an adapted faraday shielding as well as "Meca 4 Recording Chips Fluo", four-well recording chips for fluorescence applications with 150 µm cavity size (Order # 132004).
Orbit mini OPTO-INV product sheet 
(0.43 MB)
The MECA 4 OPTO-technology enables simultaneous optical and electrical recordings in free standing artificial lipid bilayers.
The MECA 4 OPTO-INV kit is comprised of an adapted Faraday shield for Nanion‘s Orbit mini bilayer recording station and a tailor-made holder for Ionera‘s MECA 4 OPTO-INV chips.
The holder allows for the positioning of the recording chips over the objective of an inverse microscope while enabling the electrical connection between the chips and the amplifier inside the Orbit mini.
Software
Orbit mini EDR Software
The software for the Orbit mini was developed by our partner Elements SRL (Italy). It is intuitive and easy to learn. Please watch this video on the Orbit mini to learn about the software:
Software Updates:
Please download EDR Software Updates from the Elements s.r.l homepage, out partner for Orbit mini software tools. Click here for Software downloads.
Consumables
MECA 4 Recording Chips
The MECA recording substrate contains a 2 x 2 array of circular microcavities in a highly inert polymer. Each cavity contains an individual integrated Ag/AgCl-microelectrode. The bilayer is formed by painting, with high success rates for functional bilayers. The MECA chip has been validated with a number of different ion channels including KcsA, gramicidin, α-hemolysin, KV1.3, NaV and many more.
The MECA recording chips are produced and quality assured by our partner Ionera Technologies GmbH in Freiburg Germany and shipped from Munich to our international customers. Different types of MECA recording chips are available which should be chosen depending on experiment.
Available chip types
- "Meca 4 Recording Chips 50 µm": Four-well recording chip with 50 µm cavity size (Order # 132001)
- "Meca 4 Recording Chips 100 µm": Four-well recording chip with 100 µm cavity size (Order # 132002)
- "Meca 4 Recording Chips 150 µm": Four-well recording chip with 150 µm cavity size (Order # 132003)
- "Meca 4 Recording Chips Fluo": Four-well recording chip for fluorescence applications with 150 µm cavity size (Order # 132004)
Testimonials & Case Studies
Prof. Dan Burden - MECA 4 OPTO-INV
"The MECA OPTO system easily coupled to my inverted microscopes and worked with a wide range of objectives. The MECA OPTO-holder provides traditional convenient bilayer formation and channel insertion with good electrical noise characteristics while markings make locating microwells quick and easy. Simultaneous optical and electrical interrogation of the microwell aperture accelerates lipid bilayer validation for ion channel measurements.
Prof. Dan Burden
Chemistry Department
Wheaton College
Prof. Dr. Chris Miller - Case Study about the Orbit mini
"Contrary to my initial expectations, the Orbit mini (red arrow) has performed exceptionally well for
our application, with vastly improved signal-tonoise characteristics over our best recordings on the home-built system."
“The compactness of the instrument makes for flexible and convenient placement in the lab. With a tiny footprint, it sits on a table or desk accompanied by only a laptop. In addition, bilayers are painted 'blind' with a teflon wand supplied by Nanion without observing the partition through a microscope. Thus, the
entire support-package of microscope, illuminator, Faraday cage, vibration-table, and rig-rack is eliminated. The acquisition software is intuitive and robust, and the data can be stored in formats readable by the Axon analysis programs that we routinely use. Moreover, the four electrically independent holes in the chip-partition means that four bilayers can be monitored simultaneously, thus quadrupling the probability of catching a clean single channel to record. This represents a significant, practical boost in experimental efficiency.”
Source: "Getting going with the Orbit mini planar bilayer system: A narrative"
From:
Prof. Dr. Chris Miller, Professor of Biochemistry, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Member, US National Academy of Sciences, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA
Data and Applications
Alpha-Hemolysin - Temperature Control
Orbit mini and applications:
Data were kindly provided by Ionera.
Temperature control of the Orbit mini: PEG induced current blockages of a alpha-hemolysin pore
(A) Current traces recorded at 10°C and 40°C illustrating a strong increase of the open pore current as well as the blockage frequency at elevated temperature.
(B) Event averaged histograms of the residual current during blockages. The open pore current scales with the temperature as well as the dwell time of the blockages.
(C) Dependence of the open pore current on the temperature.
(D) Dependence of the frequency of blockages on the temperature.
OccK1 - Outer Membrane Protein of the Pathogenic Bacterium Pseudomonas Aeruginosa
Orbit mini and applications:
Data were kindly provided by Ionera.
Representative recording from a single OmpF trimer showing current blocks due to the translocation of antibiotic Enrofloxacin, event averaged histogram.
Conditions: 150 mM KCl, 5 mM MES, pH 6, 10 mM enrofloxacin, + 60 mV
OmpF - Current block
Orbit mini and applications:
Data were kindly provided by Ionera.
Representative recording from a single OmpF trimer showing current blocks due to the translocation of antibiotic Enrofloxacin, event averaged histogram.
Conditions: 150 mM KCl, 5 mM HEPES, 5 mM MES, pH 6, 10 mM enrofloxacin, +60 mV
TRPA1 - Temperature Dependency
Orbit mini data and applications:
(A) Effect of temperature on TRPA1 activity
(B) The open probability (Po) versus the temperature and fitted with Boltzmann equation (EC50 was found at 14˚C).
The Arrhenius plot of the same data resulted in a Q10 of 46 (Literature: Q10 ~ 40).
VDAC - Application of Fluoxetine
Orbit mini and applications:
Data were kindly provided by Ionera.
Current recordings of single VDA channels from selected bilayers in parallel.
VDAC was reconstituted in DPhPC membranes and partially blocked upon the addition of Fluoxetine (Prozac).
(A) Representative parallel recording from 3 VDAC channels in DPhPC membranes. Conditions: 1 M KCl, 25 mM Tris, pH 7,5, voltage change protocol is given below.
(B) Current trace illustration partial blocade of VDAC by Fluoxetine (Prozac).
(C) Current-voltage trace of a single VADC channel under a ramping voltage of -70/+70 mV before (green) and after (blue) addition of 50 µm Fluoxetine
Purified VDAC sample is a generous gift from Prof. Stephan Nussberger to Ionera, Department Biophysics, University of Stuttgart, Germany
Product and Tutorial Movies
2018 - Simplifying artificial bilayer experiments: Single-molecule experiments on micro-cavity arrays
Orbit 16 and Orbit mini Oral Presentation
Presenter:
Dr. Conrad Weichbrodt, Product Manager Orbit instrument family, Nanion Technologies GmbH, Germany
Source:
Webinar: "Artificial Lipid Bilayers in focus: Hand-held DNA-sequencing and biosensing with nanopores", June 28, 2018
2015 - Orbit mini Membrane Preparation Tutorial Video
Orbit Mini
Short introduction how to prepare membranes on the Orbit mini
Webinars and Presentations
29.06.2021 | Webinar: Channelopathies resolved via cryo-EM and X-ray crystallography: an investigation of muscle excitation-contraction coupling
Orbit mini Webinar
Date: June 29. 2021, 5:00 PM CEST (8:00 AM PDT)
Speakers:
Dr. Conrad Weichbrodt (Senior Scientist / Product Manager Orbit family; Nanion Technologies)
Dr. Filip Van Petegem (Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - University of British Columbia)
17.09.2020 | Webinar: Electrophysiological investigation of integral membrane proteins using the Orbit mini
Orbit mini Webinar
Date: September 17. 2020, 4:00 PM CET (10:00 AM EDT)
Speakers:
Dr. Conrad Weichbrodt (Senior Scientist / Product Manager Orbit family; Nanion Technologies)
28.06.2018 | Webinar: Artificial Lipid Bilayers in focus: Hand-held DNA-sequencing and biosensing with nanopores
Orbit mini and Orbit 16
Learn about single channel measurements in bilayer recording using the orbit instrument family
- Simplifying artificial bilayer experiments: Single-molecule experiments on micro-cavity arrays
- Hand-held DNA-sequencing and biosensing with nanopores
27.01.2016 | Webinar: Instant bilayers - just add protein.
Orbit 16 and Orbit Mini
This webinar covers the use of the lipid bilayer platforms from Nanion: the Orbit16 and the Orbit mini for characterization of membrane proteins like ion channels, bacterial porins and biological nanopores. Both bilayer systems support high quality low noise recordings, but differ in throughput capabilities and experimental features. The Orbit16, introduced in 2012 is a device for efficient formation of 16 lipid bilayers simultaneously, allowing for parallel bilayer-reconstitution of ion channels and nanopores.
Downloads:
Application Notes
Product Sheets
Orbit mini OPTO- INV - Product Sheet
Orbit mini OPTO-INV product sheet (0.43 MB)
Orbit mini Product Flyer - Temperature Control
Orbit mini Product flyer (0.4 MB)
Quickstart Guides
Orbit mini - Quickstart Guide "Getting Started"
Orbit mini Quickstart Guide "Getting Started"
Publications
2022 - Triggered Assembly of a DNA-Based Membrane Channel
Orbit Mini Publication in American Chemical Society (2022)
Authors:
Lanphere C., Ciccone J., Dorey A., Hagleitner-Ertuğrul N., Knyazev D., Haider S., Howorka S.
2022 - Pore-forming moss protein bryoporin is structurally and mechanistically related to actinoporins from evolutionarily distant cnidarians
Orbit mini Publication in Journal of Biological Chemistry (2022)
Authors:
Šolinc G., Švigelj T., Omersa N., Snoj T., Pirc K., Znidaršič N., Yamaji-Hasegawa A., Kobayashi T., Anderluh G., Podobnik M.
2022 - Photoactivation of a Mechanosensitive Channel
Orbit mini Publication in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences (2022)
Authors:
Crea F., Vorkas A., Redlich A., Cruz R., Shi C., Trauner D., Lange A., Schlesinger R., Heberle J.
2022 - Opening of glutamate receptor channel to subconductance levels
Orbit Mini Publication in Nature (2022)
Authors:
Yelshanskaya M.V., Patel D.S., Kottke C.M., Kurnikova M.G., & Sobolevsky A.I.
2022 - Integrative Study of the Structural and Dynamical Properties of a KirBac3.1 Mutant: Functional Implication of a Highly Conserved Tryptophan in the Transmembrane Domain
Orbit Mini Publication in Molecular Biophysics (2022)
Authors:
Fagnen C., Bannwarth L., Oubella I., Zuniga D., Haouz A., Forest E., Scala R., Bendahhou S., De Zorzi R., Perahia D., Vénien-Bryan C.
2022 - Highly shape- and size-tunable membrane nanopores made with DNA
Orbit 16 Orbit mini and 
Vesicle Prep Pro publication in Nature Nanotechnology (2022)
Authors:
Xing Y., Dorey A., Jayasinghe L., Howorka S.
2022 - Emerging enterococcus pore-forming toxins with MHC/HLA-I as receptors
Orbit Mini Publication in Cell (2022)
Authors:
Xiong X., Songhai Tian S., Yang P., Lebreton F., Bao H.,Sheng K., Yin L., Chen P., Zhang J., Qi W., Ruan J., Wu H., Chen H., Breault D.T., Wu H., Earl A.M., Gilmore M.S., Abraham J., Dong M.
2022 - Cryo–electron microscopy unveils unique structural features of the human Kir2.1 channel
Orbit Mini Publication in Science Advances (2022)
Authors:
Fernandes C., Zuniga D., Fagnen C., Kugler V., Scala R., Péhau-Arnaudet G., Wagner R., Perahia D., Bendahhou S., Vénien-Bryan C.
2022 - Circularized fluorescent nanodiscs for probing protein–lipid interactions
Orbit mini Publication in Communications Biology (2022)
Authors:
Ren Q., Zhang S., Bao H.
2022 - An oomycete NLP cytolysin forms transient small pores in lipid membranes
Orbit mini and 
Vesicle Prep Pro publication in Science Advances (2022)
Authors:
Pirc K., Clifton L.A., Yilmaz N., Saltalmacchiamo A., Mally M., Snoj T., Žnidaršič N., Srnko M., Borišek J., Parkkila P., Albert I., Podobnik M., Numata K., Nürnberger T., Viitala T., Derganac J., Magistrato A., Lakey J.H., Anderluh G.
2022 - A reversibly gated protein-transporting membrane channel made of DNA
Orbit Mini Publication in Nature Communications (2022)
Authors:
Dey S., Dorey A., Abraham L., Xing Y., Zhang I., Howorka S., Yan H.
2022 - A chip-based array for high-resolution fluorescence characterization of free-standing horizontal lipid membranes under voltage clamp
Orbit mini OPTO-INV Publication in Lab on a Chip (2022)
Authors:
Ensslen T., Behrends J.C.
2021 - Structure and desensitization of AMPA receptor complexes with type II TARP γ5 and GSG1L
Orbit Mini Publication in Molecular Cell (2021)
Authors:
Klykov O., Gangwar S. P., Yelshanskaya M. V., Laura Yen., Sobolevsky A. I.
2021 - Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a superior host for overproduction of prokaryotic integral membrane proteins
Orbit Mini Publication in Current Research in Structural Biology (2021)
Authors:
Spruce Preisler S., Wiuf A.D., Friss M., Kjaergaard L., Hurd M., Ramos Becares E., Nurup C.N., Bjoerkskov F.B., Szathmary Z., Gourson P.E., Calloe K., Klaerke D.A., Gotfryd K., Pedersen P.A.
2021 - Rapid and multiplex preparation of engineered Mycobacterium smegmatis porin A (MspA) nanopores for single molecule sensing and sequencing
Orbit Mini Publication in Chemical Science (2021)
Authors:
Yan S., Wang L., Du X., Zhang S., Wang S., Cao J., Zhang J., Jia W., Wang Y., Zhang P., Chen H-Y., Huang S.
2021 - Pathological conformations of disease mutant Ryanodine Receptors revealed by cryo-EM
Orbit mini publication in Nature Communications (2021)
Authors:
Woll K.A., Haji-Ghassemi O., Van Petegem F.
2021 - Design, assembly, and characterization of membrane-spanning DNA nanopores
Orbit 16 and Orbit mini publication in Nature Protocols (2021)
Authors:
Lanphere C., Offenbartl-Stiegert D., Dorey A., Pugh G., Georgiou E., Xing Y., Burns J.R., Howorka S.
2021 - ATP and large signaling metabolites flux through caspase-activated Pannexin 1 channels
Orbit mini publication in eLife (2021)
Authors:
Narahari A.K., Kreutzberger A JB., Gaete P.S., Chiu Yu-Hsin, Leonhardt S.A., Medina C.B., Jin X., Oleniacz P.W., Kiessling V., Barrett P.Q., Ravichandran K.S., Yeager M., Contreras J.E., Tamm L.K., Bayliss D.A.
2020 - Structure and mechanism of bactericidal mammalian perforin-2, an ancient agent of innate immunity
Orbit mini and Vesicle Prep Pro publication in Science Advances (2020)
Authors:
Ni T., Jiao F., Yu X., Aden S., Ginger L., Williams S.I., Bai F., Pražák V., Karia D., Stansfeld P., Zhang P., Munson G., Anderluh G.,Scheuring S., Gilbert R.J.C.
2020 - Small Molecule Permeation Across Membrane Channels: Chemical Modification to Quantify Transport Across OmpF
Orbit mini publication in Angewandte Chemie (2020)
Authors:
Wang J., Bafna J.A., Bhamidimarri S.P., Winterhalter M.
2020 - New Structural insights into Kir channel gating from molecular simulations, HDX-MS and functional studies
Orbit mini publication in Nature Scientific Reports (2020)
Authors:
Fagnen C., Bannwarth L, Oubella I., Forest E., De Zorzi R., de Araujo A., Mhoumadi Y., Bendahhou S., Perahia D., Vénien-Bryan C.
2020 - Electrophysiology on Channel-Forming Proteins in Artificial Lipid Bilayers
Orbit 16 and Orbit mini Chapter in Patch Clamp Electrophysiology (2020)
Authors:
Zaitseva E., Obergrussberger A., Weichbrodt C., Boukhet M., Bernhard F., Hein C., Baaken G., Fertig N., Behrends J.C.
2020 - Electrophysiological characterization of transport across outer membrane channels from Gram‐negative bacteria in presence of lipopolysaccharides (LPS)
Port-a-Patch, Vesicle Prep Pro and Orbit mini Publication in Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2020)
Authors:
Wang J., Terrasse R., Bafna J.A., Benier L., Winterhalter M.
2020 - Cryo-EM structure of human Cx31.3/GJC3 connexin hemichannel
Orbit mini publication in Science Advances (2020)
Authors:
Lee H.J., Jeong H., Hyun J., Ryu B., Park K., Lim H.H., Yoo J., Woo J.S.
2020 - Computational Modeling of Ion Transport in Bulk and through a Nanopore Using the Drude Polarizable Force Field
Orbit mini publication in Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling (2020)
Authors:
Prajapati J.D., Mele C., Alphan Aksoyoglu M.A., Winterhalter M., Kleinekathöfer U.
2020 - Aerolysin nanopores decode digital information stored in tailored macromolecular analytes
Orbit mini publication in Science Advances (2020)
Authors:
Cao C., Krapp L.F., Al Ouahabi A., König N.F., Cirauqui N., Radenovic A., Lutz J.F. Dal Peraro M.
2020 - Activation of the archaeal ion channel MthK is exquisitely regulated by temperature
Orbit mini publication in eLife (2020)
Authors:
Jiang Y., Idikuda V., Chowdhury S., Chanda B.
2019 - Synthetic protein-conductive membrane nanopores built with DNA
Orbit 16 and Orbit mini publication in Nature Communications (2019)
Authors:
Diederichs T, Pugh G., Dorey A., Xing, Y., Burns J.R., Nguyen Q.H., Tornow M., Tampé R., & Howorka S
2019 - Structure of the human ClC-1 chloride channel
Port-a-Patch, Vesicle Prep Pro and Orbit mini publication in PLOS Biology (2019)
Authors:
Wang K., Preisler, SS, Zhang, L., Cui, Y., Missel, JW., Grønberg C., Gotfryd, K., Lindahl E., Andersson, M., Calloe, K., Egea P.F., Klaerke D.A., Pusch M., Pedersen P.A., Zhou, Z.H., Gourdon, P.
2019 - Revisiting an old antibiotic: bacitracin neutralizes binary bacterial toxins and protects cells from intoxication
Orbit mini publication in The FASEB Journal (2018)
Authors:
Schnell L., Felix I., Müller B., Sadi M., von Bank F., Papatheodorou P., Popoff M.R., Aktories K., Waltenberger E., Benz R., Weichbrodt C., Fauler M., Frick M., Barth H.
2019 - Purification of Functional Human TRP Channels Recombinantly Produced in Yeast
Orbit mini publication in Cells (2019)
Authors:
Zhang L., Wang K., Klaerke D.A., Calloe K., Lowrey L., Pedersen P.A., Gourdon P., Gotfryd K.
2019 - Arg-8 of yeast subunit e contributes to the stability of F-ATP synthase dimersand to the generation of the full-conductance megachannel
Orbit mini publication in Journal of Biological Chemistry (2019)
Authors:
Guo L., Carraro M., Carrer A., Minervini G., Urbani A., Masgras I., Tosatto S.C.E., Szabò I., Bernardi P., Lippe G.
2018 - Structures of monomeric and oligomeric forms of the Toxoplasma gondii perforin-like protein 1
Orbit mini and Vesicle Prep Pro publication in Science Advances (2018)
Authors:
Ni T., Williams S.I., Rezelj S., Anderluh G., Harlos K., Stansfeld P.J., Gilbert R.J.C.
2018 - Functional Analysis of Membrane Proteins Produced by Cell-Free Translation
Port-a-Patch and Orbit mini article in Protein Engineering (2018)
Authors:
Dondapati S.K., Wüstenhagen D.A., Kubick S.
2018 - Dynamics and number of trans-SNARE complexes determine nascent fusion pore properties
Orbit mini publication in Nature (2018)
Authors:
Bao H., Das D., Courtney N.A., Jiang Y., Briguglio J.S., Lou X., Roston D., Cui Q., Chanda B., Chapman E.R.
2017 - Molecular determinants of permeation in a fluoride-specific ion channel
Orbit mini in eLife (2017)
Authors:
Last .B., Sun S., Pham M.C., Miller C.
2017 - Engineering a pH responsive pore forming protein
Orbit mini and Vesicle Prep Pro publication in Scientific Reports (2017)
Authors:
Kisovec M., Rezelj S., Knap P., Cajnko M.M., Caserman S., Flašker A., Žnidaršič N., Repič M., Mavri J., Ruan Y., Scheuring S., Podobnik M., Anderluh G.
2016 - Mechanistic signs of double-barreled structure in a fluoride ion channel
Orbit mini publication in eLIFE (2016)
Authors:
Last N.B., Kolmakova-Partensky L., Shane T., Miller C.
Posters
2016 - Next level toxicity screening: From single channel to overall cell behavior
Orbit mini, 
CardioExcyte 96 and 
SyncroPatch 384PE (a predecessor model of the SyncroPatch 384) poster, Meeting of the French Society of Toxinology (SFET) 2015 (0.9 MB)
