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Mouse breathalyzer.

Brett C Ginsburg¹, Martin A Javors, Gregory Friesenhahn

¹Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA. ginsburg@uthscsa.edu

Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research

|June 10, 2008

Summary

A novel mouse breathalyzer accurately estimates blood ethanol concentrations noninvasively. This method is convenient for behavioral studies, offering a valuable alternative to blood sampling.

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Area of Science:

Animal models in pharmacology
Biomedical engineering
Toxicology and addiction research

Background:

Estimating blood ethanol concentration (BEC) in mice is crucial for alcoholism research.
Existing methods often require invasive procedures, limiting their use in behavioral studies.
A simple, noninvasive method for BEC estimation in mice is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

To validate a novel, noninvasive breathalyzer method for estimating blood ethanol concentrations in mice.
To assess the accuracy and convenience of the breathalyzer compared to traditional blood sampling.

Main Methods:

A custom apparatus was developed, including a body chamber and a head-space chamber for collecting rebreathed air.
Ethanol in breath samples was quantified using gas chromatography.

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Breath ethanol levels were correlated with blood ethanol levels from tail blood samples at various time points and doses.

Main Results:

High correlation (r² = 0.96) was observed between breath and blood ethanol levels on the descending ethanol-time curve for doses below 2.4 g/kg.
Good correlation (r² = 0.92) was also found on the ascending portion of the curve, despite greater variance.
The method demonstrated accuracy and reliability across multiple time points and ethanol doses.

Conclusions:

The mouse breathalyzer provides an accurate, convenient, and noninvasive method for estimating BEC in mice.
This technique is particularly useful for behavioral studies involving repeated ethanol measurements, especially on the descending limb of the ethanol-time curve.
The breathalyzer facilitates quick and easy ethanol concentration estimation, overcoming limitations of repeated blood sampling.