Animal facility provides a controlled, ethical, and compliant environment for housing, breeding, and conducting experiments on mice (metabolism, toxicology, aging, metabolic disorders and behavior)
Animal facility at Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology VSPNU allows breeding and housing of laboratory mice at the standardized and gadget-controlled conditions (22-25°C, 50-60% humidity, air ventilation, 12h light: 12 dark photoperiod). Mice are kept at three holding rooms of total capacity of 600 mice simultaneously. Animals are kept in plastic cages (30×15×13 cm) with metal gates caps for feeding and watering. A quarter of cages with mice is used as a stock for breeding of new generations. Mice involved in the experiments are placed separately from the stock. Qualified staff of the Animal Facility is fully compliant to individual maintenance protocols and monitoring, in accordance to research requirements: breeding and housing mice of different lines, health monitoring of the animals, performing experimental procedures (providing specific diets, administration of various substances and studying their effect on the basic physiology of animals. They also euthanize mice during tissue collection and help take organs for analysis, help perform behavioral testing, and train successive and auxiliary staff. Vivarium is neighbored by the room for testing mouse behavior. The main behavior equipment is the Open Field Test box, T-maze, and Elevated Plus Maze with video-recording devices, and Foot Shock cage to induce traumatic stress. We have equipment to prepare feed (pellets) manually from individual ingredients.
- Breeding and quarantine room
- Feed-producing room with the respective equipment.
- Operation room
- Autoclave room
- Washing room
- Behavioral test room and supporting tools.
- Сarbon dioxide balloons for anesthesia
