Drug/Substance Administration

Sex and strain differences in the micropipette-guided drug administration (MDA) method in mice

To provide an alternative to oral gavage for per os treatments in laboratory mice, we have recently developed and introduced the micropipette-guided drug administration (MDA) method. This procedure is based on the presentation of a palatable solution consisting of sweetened...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Steiner, S., Krzyzaniak, O., Nilsson, F. A. M. et al. 2025. Sex and strain differences in the micropipette-guided drug administration (MDA) method in mice. Laboratory Animals 59(5), 578–587.

Applicability of the micropipette-guided drug administration (MDA) method for assessing reward-related behaviors in mice

Oral gavage is the standard method for acute or chronic per os treatments in laboratory rodents. It can, however, induce significant stress responses and compromise the welfare of animals. To mitigate these concerns, we recently introduced the micropipette-guided drug administration...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Krzyzaniak, O., Steiner, S., Nilsson, F. A. M. et al. 2025. Applicability of the micropipette-guided drug administration (MDA) method for assessing reward-related behaviors in mice. Physiology & Behavior 299, 114967.

Diet gel-based oral drug delivery system for controlled dosing of small molecules for microglia depletion and inducible Cre recombination in mice

Small molecules such as PLX5622 for microglia depletion and tamoxifen for inducible Cre recombination are commonly used in mouse research. Traditional application methods such as drug-infused chow, oral gavage or injections have limitations, including uncontrolled dosing (chow) or risk of...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Jovanovic, J., Stone, M. L., Dooyema, S. R. et al. 2025. Diet gel-based oral drug delivery system for controlled dosing of small molecules for microglia depletion and inducible Cre recombination in mice. Lab Animal 54(10), 278–285.

A new method to replace oral gavage for the study of Cryptosporidium infection in mice

Oral gavage is a widely used method to infect mice with Cryptosporidium parvum (CP), the most common animal model of infection. Cryptosporidium spp. are worldwide distributed, gastrointestinal parasites that mainly cause diarrhea in humans and neonatal ruminants. CP is transmitted...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Fumuso, F. G., Salomon, C. E., O’Connor, R. M. 2025. A new method to replace oral gavage for the study of Cryptosporidium infection in mice. Laboratory Animals 59(5), 593–598.

Maintenance of the Brugia Malayi life cycle in Mongolian gerbils

The Mongolian gerbil or jird (Meriones unguiculatus) is a rodent belonging to the subfamily Gerbillinae. They are commonly used as models for a variety of infectious diseases such as Hepatitis E virus and Giardia lamblia. At the LSTM/University of Liverpool...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Cannulation, Catheterization, & Intubation, Disease/Experimental Model, Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Gerbil, Rodent

Citation: Steven, A. 2025. Maintenance of the Brugia Malayi life cycle in Mongolian gerbils. Animal Technology and Welfare 24(2), 155–156.

A sweet change to the needle

Our Named Veterinary Surgeon (NVS) suggested providing post-operative pain relief in flavoured jelly to avoid the use of needles. We made up batches of non-medicated jelly to try them with first. We provided this nonmedicated jelly for three days before...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Forrest, G., Sattar, A. et al. 2020. A sweet change to the needle. Animal Technology and Welfare 19(1), 73–75.

Mouse strain-specific habituation to oral metamizole administration

When pain might occur during an animal experiment, sufficient analgesia is necessary. Metamizole is the third most used postoperative pain medication in animal research. The analgesic effect of metamizole is supposed to last 6–8 h in rodents. Therefore, the supplementation of...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Schreiber, T., Leitner, E., Brandstetter, J. et al. 2025. Mouse strain-specific habituation to oral metamizole administration. Laboratory Animals 59(2), 192–202.

Preceding sevoflurane inhalation in rats reduces the stress of intraperitoneal injection both in inexperienced experimenters and subject rats

In this study, we found that sevoflurane inhalation in rats prior to intraperitoneal injection decreased stress in both inexperienced experimenters and subject rats. Inexperienced experimenters anaesthetised male Sprague Dawley rats by intraperitoneal injection of anaesthetics, with or without preceding sevoflurane...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Ishibashi, H., Motohashi, H. 2025. Preceding sevoflurane inhalation in rats reduces the stress of intraperitoneal injection both in inexperienced experimenters and subject rats. Laboratory Animals 59(2), 272–275.

Pharmacokinetics and effectiveness of precise voluntary consumption compared to subcutaneous administration of cephalosporins in rats following orthopedic surgery

The administration of antibiotics is a critical variable when developing animal models of infection. Handling and needle use, however, can cause distress in the animals, leading not only to irritability of the animal but potentially skewed inflammatory data in studies...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Shiels, S. M., Sandoval, C. M., Riddle, L. E. et al. 2025. Pharmacokinetics and effectiveness of precise voluntary consumption compared to subcutaneous administration of cephalosporins in rats following orthopedic surgery. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science 64(3), 385–392.

Gavage-needle voluntary consumption administration of a dose-specific measure to mice (Mus musculus)

Orogastric gavage is a common technique used to administer test articles to rodents with risks ranging from increased stress to death of the animal. In this study, we propose a novel technique to administer treatments to mice for voluntary consumption...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Punger, E. M., Norris, S. L., Stevens, S. C. et al. 2025. Gavage-needle voluntary consumption administration of a dose-specific measure to mice (Mus musculus). Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science 64(2), 287–293.