ICAPPIC is a manufacturer of nanoanalytical instruments – particularly scanning ion conductance microscope (SICM) systems and related equipment – for a broad range of applications related to electrophysiology,
ion-channel pharmacology and other biomedical applications.

ICAPPIC provides nano-engineering expertise to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as well
as to academic institutions.
The company has developed unique tools for non-destructive nanoscale topographic imaging and investigation of functional properties of living cells. "Smart" navigation of the nanopipette can be used for automated patch clamping and localised dosing for a wide variety of biomedical and drug discovery research.

These approaches which include biophysical and electrophysiological studies are of particular value to preclincical researchers. Our scientists are affiliated to the top universities in the UK and with their expertise we believe that we can play a major role in enhancing your drug discovery programme.

SCANNING ION CONDUCTANCE MICROSCOPE

ICAPPIC offers bespoke SICM systems for a wide range of investigations of living cells. Our SICM system allows non-invasive, real-time examination of cell structure and function under physiological conditions.


COMBINATIONS


SICM systems produced by ICAPPIC can be used in combination with other techniques such as confocal microscopy, microinjection, electrochemical measurements, patch clamp recordings, and also optical fluorescent methods.


ADVANTAGES


The nanoscale study of living cells and their structure and composition gives valuable insight into the complex processes that occur in biological systems.
The precise positioning of the nanopipette-based probes to target specific regions of cells, as well as the ability to combine this with optical fluorescent methods allows an unprecedented level of control of the application of substances (e.g. agonists or antagonists) and determination of the distribution of nanoobjects (nanoparticles, proteins, nanogels) on the surface or inside the live cells.


SERVICES

Our modular approach gives researchers the opportunity to have custom-designed systems for their specific applications and budget. ICAPPIC also provides a consultancy service for assembling systems based on ICAPPIC modules and their integration with existing experimental setups (optical, fluorescent, confocal, FRET microscopy).
Products
ICAPPIC Z stage
Applications:
Fast Z positioning
of nanopipette

XY-positioning
of nanopipette (Manual)

Motorised XY-positioning of nanopipette (optional)
Travel range 13mm


Travel range 13mm


Typical step size 20nm
Max velocity 3.6mm/min
Coarse approach/positioning
Integrated sensor

Travel range

Positioning accuracy

Linearity, closed-loop

Unloaded resonant frequency

Resonant frequency @ 200 g

Operating temperature range
Capacitive

25 μm

0.1 nm

0.03%

3,7 kHz

1,7 kHz

-20 to 80 0C
Nanopositioning system
Automated approach

Variation of pipette size («chopping»)
+

+
Feedback control
• Vertical automated patch clamp
• Microinjection
• Z-displacement measurement
• Stiffness measurement and pressure application
• Electrochemistry
ICAPPIC X-Y stage
Applications:
Active axes

Integrated sensor

Open-loop travel, -20 to +120 V

Closed-loop travel

Open-loop / closed-loop resolution

Linearity

Stiffness in motion direction
X,Y

Capacitive

60x60 μm

45x45 μm

0.1/0.3 nm

0,03 %

10 N/μm
Technical data
• X-Y nanopositioning
• Sample Scanning Fluorescence Confocal microscopy
• Scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM)
• Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM)
• Stiffness mapping
• Local delivery
Unloaded resonant frequency

Electrical capacitance per axis

Dynamic operating current coefficientper axis

Operating temperature range

Compatible with optical microscope

Sample size
1550 Hz

9 uF

25 μA/(Hz•μm)


-20 to 80 0С

Nikon Ti-U


Height – 10 mm
Diameter – 35 mm
Weight - <200 g
ICAPPIC mechanical stand
Applications:
Compatibility



Material

Surface
Integration with Nikon Ti-U
- X-Y Stage
- Z Stage

Anodized duralumin

not conductive

Technical data
• Electromagnetic protection
• Confocal microscopy
• SICM
• SECM
• Vertical patch-clamp
• Microinjection
• Localized delivery
ICAPPIC controller
Applications:
Analog inputs




8 –channels;
resolution – 16 Bit;
sampling frequency - up to 750 kHz simultaneously;
voltage range - from -10 to 10 V
Technical data
• Pipette nanopositioning and local delivery
• Electrophysiology
• SPM applications
• Electrochemistry
• Sensor applications
Analog outputs
8 –channels
voltage range - from (-10) to (10) V.
Pipette nanopositioning and local delivery
Piezo Controller System
Applications:
Technical data:
• SICM
• SECM
• XYZ nanopositioning
Amplifier
3 channels with capacitive sensors;
1 channel without capacitive sensor
Input voltage range 0...5V
Output voltage 0to +100 V
Peak current 1 Amp

Capacitive sensor
3 channels;
Sensor bandwidth < 10 kHz
Piezo connection socket LEMO ERA.00.250.CTL
Sensor connection LEMO EPL.00.250.NTD
Nanoprobes
Carbon Electrode
Disk-shaped carbon nanoelectrodes embedded into quartz nanopipette. Tip size ≤ 100 nm. Diameter at the back end of the pipette is 0.5 mm that provides easy access for electrical connection using thin metal wire.

Nanoprobe Applications:
Carbon electrodes can be used for neurotransmitter release detection, and also as a base for subsequent deposition/surface modification with materials/molecules of interest to form selective nanoprobes.


Double Barrel Electrode
Double barrel quartz pipette with none, one or both barrels filled with electrically conductive carbon. Tip diameter ≤ 200 nm.

Nanoprobe Applications:
Double barrel electrodes can be used for simultaneous topographical and electrochemical imaging (SICM-SECM).

Platinum Electrode
Platinum electrode deposited at the tip of carbon electrode.
Tip diameter ≤ 150 nm

Nanoprobe Applications:
Platinum nanoelectrode can be used for intracellular detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS).
Methods
Using a range of ICAPPIC modules you can assemble systems for applications including but not limited to:
• Localised delivery (dosing);
• Scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM);
• Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM);
• Automated patch clamping (APC);
• Scanning confocal microscopy (SCM);
• Electrochemical sensing.
MODULES

The table indicates possible applications and required ICAPPIC modules.

Applications
SICM Topographical imaging
Drosophila polytene chromosome
Magnetospirillum bacteria
Prostate carcinoma from human (LNCaP) cell

Correlative SICM and fluorescence confocal microscopy (FCM)

Simultaneous, correlative SICM and FCM images of endocytosis of fluorescent nanoparticles by LNCaP cells.

SICM
FCM
SICM+FCM
Local delivery of substances
SICM and Fluorescence confocal images of live transfected xenopus oocytes with TRPV1 channels.
Local application of capsaicin by voltage pulse to a single cell.
Fluorescent response of cell to a local application of capsaicin.
Board of Directors
  • Chairman
    Sir Christopher Edwards
  • Director
    Dr. Andrew Shevchuk
  • Scientific Advisor
    Prof. Yuri Korchev
  • Scientific Advisor
    Sir David Klenerman FRS FMedSci
Contacts and Location

ICAPPIC Limited (main office)
+44 (0) 208 383 3080
info@icappic.com
Address: The Fisheries, Mentmore Terrace, London, E8 3PN, United Kingdom
ICAPPIC Asia-Pacific Ltd.
+66 (0) 827 437 159
info@icappic.com
Address: 22/35 Floor 3 Moo 3 Wichit, Muang Phuket, Phuket,Thailand
Publications
1.Joanna Bednarska, Annegret Pelchen Matthews, Pavel Novak, Jemima J.Burden, Peter A. Summers, Marina K. Kuimova, Yuri Korchev, Mark Marsh, Andrew Shevchuk, Rapid formation of human immunodeficiency virus-like particles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117 (35) 21637-21646 (2020)

2. Pamela Swiatlowska, Jose L. Sanchez-Alonso, Catherine Mansfield, Denis Scaini, Yuri Korchev, Pavel Novak and Julia Gorelik, Short-term angiotensin II treatment regulates cardiac nanomechanics via microtubule modifications. Nanoscale, 12, 16315-16329 (2020)

3. Alexander N. Vaneev, Petr V. Gorelkin, Anastasiia S. Garanina, Helena V. Lopatukhina, Stepan S. Vodopyanov, Anna V. Alova, Oxana O. Ryabaya, Roman A. Akasov, Yanjun Zhang, Pavel Novak, Sergey V. Salikhov, Maxim A. Abakumov, Yasufumi Takahashi, Christopher R. W. Edwards, Natalia L. Klyachko, Alexander G. Majouga, Yuri E. Korchev, and Alexander S. Erofeev, In Vitro and In Vivo Electrochemical Measurement of Reactive Oxygen Species After Treatment with Anticancer Drugs. Analytical Chemistry 92, 12, 8010–8014 (2020)

4. Pamela Swiatlowska, Jose L. Sanchez-Alonso, Peter T. Wright, Pavel Novak, and Julia Gorelik, Microtubules regulate cardiomyocyte transversal Young's modulus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117 (6) 2764-2766 (2020)

5. Olga O. Krasnovskaya, Dmitry A. Guk, Alexey E. Naumov, Vita N. Nikitina, Alevtina S. Semkina, Kseniya Yu. Vlasova, Vadim Pokrovsky, Oksana O. Ryabaya, Saida S. Karshieva, Dmitry A. Skvortsov, Irina V. Zhirkina, Radik R. Shafikov, Petr V. Gorelkin, Alexander N. Vaneev, Alexander S. Erofeev, Dmitrii M. Mazur, Viktor A. Tafeenko, Vladimir I. Pergushov, Mikhail Ya. Melnikov, Mikhail A. Soldatov, Victor V. Shapovalov, Alexander V. Soldatov, Roman. A. Akasov, Vasily M. Gerasimov, Dmitry A. Sakharov, Anna A. Moiseeva, Nikolay V. Zyk, Elena K. Beloglazkina, and Alexander G. Majouga, Novel Copper-Containing Cytotoxic Agents Based on 2-Thioxoimidazolones, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 63, 21, 13031–13063 (2020)

6. Anna Alova, Alexander Erofeev, Petr Gorelkin, Tatyana Bibikova, Yury Korchev, Alexander Majouga, Alexander Bulychev, Prolonged oxygen depletion in microwounded cells of Chara corallina detected with novel oxygen nanosensors, Journal of Experimental Botany, 71, 1, 386–398 (2020)

7. Maria Medvedeva, Kseniya Barinova, Aleksandra Melnikova, Pavel Semenyuk, Vasillii Kolmogorov, Petr Gorelkin, Alexander Erofeev, Vladimir Muronetz, Naturally occurring cinnamic acid derivatives prevent amyloid transformation of alpha-synuclein. Biochimie, 170, 128-139 (2020)

8. Zhang, Y., Takahashi, Y., Hong, S.P. et al. High-resolution label-free 3D mapping of extracellular pH of single living cells. Nature Communications 10, 5610 (2019)

9. Hariharan Subramanian, Alexander Froese, Peter Jönsson, Hannes Schmidt, Julia Gorelik &amp; Viacheslav O. Nikolaev, Distinct submembrane localisation compartmentalises cardiac NPR1 and NPR2 signalling to cGMP. Nature Communications volume 9, 2446 (2018)

10. A. Erofeev, P. Gorelkin, A. Garanina, A. Alova, M. Efremova, N. Vorobyeva, C. Edwards, Y Korchev, A Majouga, Novel method for rapid toxicity screening of magnetic nanoparticles, Scientific Reports volume 8, 7462 (2018)

11. Pershina Alexandra G., Brikunova Olga Ya, Demin Alexander M., Abakumov Maxim A., Vaneev Alexander N., Naumenko Victor A., Erofeev Alexander S., Gorelkin Peter V., Nizamov Timur R., Muslimov Albert R., Timin Alexander S., Malkeyeva Dina, Kiseleva Elena, Vtorushin Sergey V., Larionova Irina V., Gereng Elena A., Minin Artem S., Murzakaev Aidar M., Krasnov Victor P., Majouga Alexander G., Ogorodova Ludmila M., Variation in tumor pH affects pH-triggered delivery of peptide-modified magnetic nanoparticles. Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine, volume 32, (2020)


12. Akasov R.A., Sholina N.V., Khochenkov D.A., Alova A.V., Gorelkin P.V., Erofeev A.S., Generalova A.N., Khaydukov E.V., Photodynamic therapy of melanoma by blue-light photoactivation of flavin mononucleotide. Scientific reports, volume 9, № 1 (2019)

13. Svetlana N. Pleskova Ruslan N. Kriukov Sergey Z. Bobyk Alexey V. Boryakov Peter V. Gorelkin Alexander S. Erofeev, Conditioning adhesive contacts between the neutrophils and the endotheliocytes by Staphylococcus aureus. Journal of Molecular Recognition, volume 33(9), e2846 (2020)