Sodium-selective liquid ion-exchanger microelectrodes for intracellular measurements.

The sodium-selective ligand 1,1,1-tris[1(1)-(2(1)-oxa-4(1)-oxo-5(1)-aza-5(1)-methyl)dodecanyl]propane dissolved in 3-nitro-o-xylene containing a small amount of the lipophilic anion tetrachlorophenyl borate was used as a liquid ion-exchanger in sodium-selective microelectrodes. The microelectrodes gave rapid, stable responses that were linear functions of the logarithm of sodium activity. They were tested under conditions approximating those to be expected in the cell interior, and the results indicated that they can be used to measure intracellular sodium activity without significant interference from intracellular potassium.