Contract Services
The laboratory actively partners with industry in preclinical efficacy/safety evaluations of drugs and devices, including Good Laboratory Practice studies used in FDA submissions. Investigation and assessment studies utilize well-defined models and tools of analysis including:
- Assays of Analgesic Pharmacology and Activity
- Kinetic and safety studies of chronic/acute intracranial and intraspinal test material. Delivery in the dog, rat and mouse using bolus injection and/or continuous infusion
- Effect of test material on induced neuropathy studies in the rat and mouse using the Bennett (thermal hyperalgesia), Chung (tactile allodynia) and, intrathecal substance-P/NMDA (thermal hyperalgesia) models of nerve injury.
- Measures of analgesic activity, include:
- Rat and mouse thermal escape (Hargreaves)
- Rat and mouse tactile threshold (Von Frey hairs)
- Rat deep pressure sensitivity (Ugo Basale)
- Rat and mouse tactile allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia (carrageenan knee joint and paw, thermal injury inflammation, or intravenous vincristine induced)
- Rat and mouse tactile allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia (intraplantar formalin induced paw flinch analysis)
- Mouse osteosarcoma
- Dog and rat motor function
- Dog thermal thermal escape and skin twitch
- Assays of cerebral, spinal and nerve ischemia
- Cerebral blood flow and glucose utilization
- Indices of ischemic damage in brain and spinal cord
- Indices of spinal cord blood flow and post ischemic outcome
- Cerebral and spinal drug toxicology and ischemia pathology
- Assays of CNS transmitter activity and brain drug levels
- In vitro transmitter release measured in slices/minces/non-neural tissue and in vivo measurement by intracranial/spinal dialysis
- Single unit recording (sural nerve in rat)