The preclinical evaluation of novel drugs is critical for the early identification of compounds that could potentially disrupt the heart's rhythmic beating and result in arrhythmias or other cardiac complications. The heart’s coordinated contractions are a result of the rapid generation of electrical signals, known as action potentials, in the heart’s muscle cells (Figure 1) [1]. These signals are crucial for maintaining proper heart function and therefore should be thoroughly examined throughout the drug screening process. Given the rapid pace of action potentials, high sampling rates are necessary to accurately assess the effects of drug candidates on cardiac function.

Traditional electrophysiology methods, such as manual and automated patch-clamp, offer high-resolution data by precisely measuring the action potential of individual cells. However, these techniques are labor-intensive and low throughput, limiting the number of compounds that can be tested. To address these limitations, high-throughput screening techniques have been developed, allowing researchers to screen large numbers of compounds in a shorter amount of time [2, 3]. Unfortunately, some of these platforms increase throughput at the expense of sampling rate, which can compromise the accuracy and reliability of the data and potentially lead to false conclusions about a compound's safety.

Lumencor’s VOLTA Scanner provides a solution for high-throughput cardiac safety profiling without sacrificing sampling rate. The VOLTA Scanner, an optical plate reader, features an impressive 10,000 Hz sampling rate, ensuring that changes in the cardiac action potential are captured with high temporal resolution and that no data is lost (Figure 2). Changes in voltage are detected by monitoring the fluorescence of BeRST, a voltage sensitive dye, with sub-millisecond temporal resolution across 96- or 384-well microplates, enabling rapid screening of hundreds of compounds [4]. Together with human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hIPSC-CM) and BeRST, the VOLTA Scanner offers a reliable and robust approach to the preclinical safety profiling of drug candidates. Eliminate the risk of false negatives and ensure accurate identification of cardiotoxic compounds by transforming your safety profile screening with the VOLTA Scanner.