title: A simple way to build a grinder for carbon-fibre electrodes for amperometry or voltammetry.
abstract: Carbon-fibre electrodes are used widely for studying exocytosis by amperometry. Currently, there are two major methods for insulating fibres so as to leave the tip as the only conductive surface: encapsulation with plastic or glass. The latter offers advantages such as better insulation and a known electro-active surface. In addition, such electrodes are suitable for in vivo electrochemistry because they can penetrate brain tissues. However, the construction of glass-encapsulated electrodes requires a grinder to polish the electrode surface with precision. This apparatus is expensive because it needs a very stable motor, a diamond surface and a micromanipulator. We describe the construction of a cheap precision grinder using a computer drive and an old microscope.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Farmacología. Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. rborges@ull.es
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Borges
authors.forename: Jésica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Díaz
authors.forename: Marcial
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Camacho
authors.forename: José D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Machado
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon; D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D004566:Electrodes
chemical_list: D002244:Carbon