The “3R concept”, first introduced by Russell and Burch's 1959 book “The principles of humane experimental technique”, is a widely accepted ethical framework for conducting scientific experiments on animals: Replacement (use of non-animal methods), Reduction (methods which reduce the number of animals used) and Refinement (methods which improve animal welfare). In particular, the refinement priciple refers to the improvement of breeding and of experimental procedures, aiming to minimise actual or potential pain and to improve animal welfare in those situations where animal usage is unavoidable. In animal experimental studies high volumes of blood or plasma are needed for an accurate analysis of the compounds of interest. Because of this, often the animal sacrifice is necessary for small ones, such as rats and mice, which are also the most used in all laboratories. A possible alternative and innovative sampling in this research field is represented by the Dried Blood Spot (DBS) technique, that needs very small amount of blood. The extension of the DBS procedure to the animal model testing, sampling only a few blood microliters from the rat or mouse tail, would leave the animal alive, allowing to perform serial samplings on the same subject. Other main advantages are represented by a minimally invasive withdrawal, easier storage and transportation issues, a better stability of the analysed compounds and more feasibility of post-sampling procedures. The purpose of this work is the development and validation of a rapid and reliable analytical strategy for the determination of cannabinoids in DBS, obtained from mice treated with Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol within an immunological research study.
Can DBS testing be a response to the “3R concept” in animal testing? Development of an analytical strategy
RAGGI, MARIA AUGUSTA
2013
Abstract
The “3R concept”, first introduced by Russell and Burch's 1959 book “The principles of humane experimental technique”, is a widely accepted ethical framework for conducting scientific experiments on animals: Replacement (use of non-animal methods), Reduction (methods which reduce the number of animals used) and Refinement (methods which improve animal welfare). In particular, the refinement priciple refers to the improvement of breeding and of experimental procedures, aiming to minimise actual or potential pain and to improve animal welfare in those situations where animal usage is unavoidable. In animal experimental studies high volumes of blood or plasma are needed for an accurate analysis of the compounds of interest. Because of this, often the animal sacrifice is necessary for small ones, such as rats and mice, which are also the most used in all laboratories. A possible alternative and innovative sampling in this research field is represented by the Dried Blood Spot (DBS) technique, that needs very small amount of blood. The extension of the DBS procedure to the animal model testing, sampling only a few blood microliters from the rat or mouse tail, would leave the animal alive, allowing to perform serial samplings on the same subject. Other main advantages are represented by a minimally invasive withdrawal, easier storage and transportation issues, a better stability of the analysed compounds and more feasibility of post-sampling procedures. The purpose of this work is the development and validation of a rapid and reliable analytical strategy for the determination of cannabinoids in DBS, obtained from mice treated with Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol within an immunological research study.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
