AUTOMATED PHARMACOLOGY SAMPLING
Biotec Centre is the first CRO is Europe to offer automated blood sampling for pharmacokinetic, toxicokinetic and drug metabolism studies using the new Culex Automated Blood Sampler. At programmed time points, this device removes precise volumes of whole blood from sterile catheters implanted into veins or arteries of laboratory rats (150 to 450 g) and then replaces the sampled blood with an equivalent volume of sterile heparinized saline (10 U/mL). Urine is collected and refrigerated during the same experiment for clearance studies, feces are collected and separated from the urine, and an animal activity monitor records rotational behavior. The Culex system allows blood samples to be taken without human contact and provides a dramatic reduction in animal stress as measured by plasma catecholamine and corticosterone levels. The same system permits simultaneous drug infusions, in vivo microdialysis, and electrode monitoring in the same subject.