Abstract
A voltage-sensitive Na
+ channel is the basis of electrical excitability in most nerve and muscle cells. Although this channel has been probed
in situ with biophysical techniques for half a century, it has only recently been possible to remove it from the membrane for molecular characterization. Biochemical studies of isolated sodium channels are now shedding light on the unusual structure of the channel, but the proof of the pudding is in its functional reconstitution.