a b s t r a c tA novel dual channel in vitro apparatus, derived from a previously described design, has been coupled with dopamine (DA) microsensors for the flow-through detection of DA secreted from PC12 cells. The device, including two independent microdialysis capillaries, was loaded with a solution containing PC12 cells while a constant phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) medium perfusion was carried out using a dual channel miniaturized peristaltic pump. One capillary was perfused with normal PBS, whereas extracellular calcium was removed from extracellular fluid of the second capillary. After a first period of stabilization and DA baseline recording, KCl (75 mM) was added to the perfusion fluid of both capillaries. In this manner, a simultaneous ''treatment-control" experimental design was performed to detect K + -evoked calcium-dependent DA secretion. For this purpose, self-referencing DA microsensors were developed, and procedures for making, testing, and calibrating them are described in detail. The electronic circuitry was derived from previously published schematics and optimized for dual sensor constant potential amperometry applications. The microdialysis system was tested and validated in vitro under different experimental conditions, and DA secretion was confirmed by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-EC). PC12 cell viability was quantified before and after each experiment. The proposed apparatus serves as a reliable model for studying the effects of different drugs on DA secretion through the direct comparison of extracellular DA increase in treatment-control experiments performed on the same initial PC12 cell population.Ó A wide variety of techniques have been used for studying in vitro DA secretion/release, and most of them use PC12 cells because they are capable of synthesizing, secreting, and metabolizing DA. The PC12 cell line, obtained from rat pheochromocytoma of the adrenal medulla, is also used as a tool to understand the biochemical mechanisms underlying the physiology and degeneration of central dopamine neurons [12][13][14]. In previous studies, we successfully used PC12 cells to investigate the mechanism of nitric oxide (NO) donor-induced DA secretion [7] and DA oxidative homeostasis in vitro [6,8]. In such studies, DA was quantified in microdialysates by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-EC). The aim of the current research was to combine a modified device for in vitro microdialysis with a novel, dual channel amperometric system for the online detection of DA secreted from PC12 cells. The new electronics de-0003-2697/$ -see front matter Ó