Drug/Substance Administration

Reducing the stress of drug administration: Implications for the 3Rs

Restraint in animals is known to cause stress but is used during almost all scientific procedures in rodents, representing a major welfare and scientific issue. Administration of substances, a key part of most scientific procedures, almost always involves physical restraint...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Drug/Substance Administration, RestraintAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Stuart, S., Robinson, E. S. J. 2015. Reducing the stress of drug administration: Implications for the 3Rs. Scientific Reports 5, 14288.

Administering fixed oral doses of curcumin to rats through voluntary consumption

Curcumin, a polyphenol derived from turmeric, has a wide variety of therapeutic benefits including antiinflammatory, antioxidative, and chemopreventative effects. Oral gavage is widely performed to administer curcumin in laboratory rodents in several experimental models. Although effective, this method can increase...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Hocking, A. J., Elliot, D., Hua, J. et al. 2018. Administering fixed oral doses of curcumin to rats through voluntary consumption. JAALAS 57(5), 508–512.

Going outside ASPA guidelines

This article will discuss an improved and refined technique used for working and caring for a group of diabetic mice. As a team of animal technologists, academics and named veterinary surgeon, we developed a new husbandry care regime to improve...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Drug/Substance Administration, Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Gardiner, P. 2016. Going outside ASPA guidelines. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(1), 47-52.

Refinement of tumour passage by optimisation of the tissue disaggregation protocol

Surgical implantation of tumour pieces has been used regularly in the passage of tumour models. This involves an invasive surgical procedure, carried out under anaesthesia, ensuring mice have adequate pain relief and peri-operative care. The procedure also requires multiple tumour-bearing...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Galvin, M., Lallo, A., Brown, S. et al. 2018. Refinement of tumour passage by optimisation of the tissue disaggregation protocol. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(2), 101-103.

A refinement to Schedule 1

There are varying methods used for animal restraint and angle of injection. It remains unclear whether one method is more accurate than others. The primary objectives were to examine whether inverted restraint of rats resulted in more effective outcomes and...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Read, H., Perry, R. 2018. A refinement to Schedule 1. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(2), 117-120.

Design by intravenous injection in the Syrian hamster

Repeated injections in rats and mice are typically done via the tail vein. For hamsters, the tail is not an option. In this paper we explore the development and refinement of IV dosing in the Syrian hamster via the jugular...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Hamster, Rodent

Citation: Beamish, G., Chapman, C., Lomax, A. 2018. Design by intravenous injection in the Syrian hamster. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(2), 124-125.

Effects of repeated intraperitoneal injection of pharmaceutical-grade and nonpharmaceutical-grade corn oil in female C57BL/6J mice

Due to potential adverse effects on animal wellbeing, the use of nonpharmaceutical-grade substances in animal research must be scientifically justified in cases where a pharmaceutical-grade version of the substance exists. This requirement applies to all substances, including vehicles used to...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Hubbard, J. S., Chen, P. H., Boyd, K. L. 2017. Effects of repeated intraperitoneal injection of pharmaceutical-grade and nonpharmaceutical-grade corn oil in female C57BL/6J mice. JAALAS 56(6), 779-785.

Effects of daily restraint with and without injections on skeletal properties in C57BL/6NHsd mice

Studies typically involve groups of animals that are injected with placebo compounds. As there are studies that demonstrate that restraint and injection can affect behavior and corticosteroid levels in rodents, the basis of such placebo injections is to control for...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Drug/Substance Administration, HandlingAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Larsen, R. A., Peveler, J. L., Klutzke, J. B. et al. 2017. Effects of daily restraint with and without injections on skeletal properties in C57BL/6NHsd mice. Lab Animal 46(7), 299-301.

A less invasive method for orthotopic injection of breast cancer cells into the mouse mammary gland

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer diagnosed in women, and the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in women in North America. The use of laboratory mice in research is an essential tool for the study...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Tavera-Mendoza, L. E., Brown, M. 2017. A less invasive method for orthotopic injection of breast cancer cells into the mouse mammary gland. Laboratory Animals 51(1), 85-88.

Refinement of habituation procedures in diet-induced obese mice

Orogastric gavage, while a common method for delivering experimental substances in mice, has been shown to induce stress. To minimize the associated stress with this procedure, sham gavage prior to the start of experiment is a common method for habiutating...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Animal Training, Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Karrberg, L., Andersson, L., Kastenmayer, R. J. et al. 2016. Refinement of habituation procedures in diet-induced obese mice. Laboratory Animals 50(5), 397-399.