An Efficient Single-Person Technique for Milk Sampling from Laboratory Mice.

Area of Science:

• Animal models in biological research
• Lactation and neonatal development studies

Background:

• Rodent models are crucial for studying physiological and biochemical mechanisms.
• Collecting sufficient milk from small rodents for analysis is challenging.
• Existing milk sampling techniques often require multiple personnel.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a modified, single-person milk sampling technique for mice.
• To enable efficient collection of milk for compositional analysis.
• To support research in lactation and neonatal development.

Main Methods:

• A modified milk sampling technique based on a 2009 method was employed.
• The procedure is affordable, easy to assemble, and requires one trained person.
• Milk samples were collected from dams under anesthesia on post-delivery day 2 (PD2) and post-delivery day 10 (PD10).

Main Results:

• The single-person technique routinely yielded 0.1-0.5 mL of milk in under 10 minutes.
• Milk fat concentration was significantly higher on PD10 (224.4 g/L) compared to PD2 (174.4 g/L).
• Milk protein and lactose concentrations remained similar between PD2 and PD10, with variations in specific milk protein relative abundance.

Conclusions:

• The demonstrated technique is an efficient, single-person method for mouse milk sampling.
• This method facilitates the collection of adequate milk volumes for detailed compositional analysis.
• The findings support the use of this technique in lactation and neonatal development research.