title: The development and evaluation of a new aerosol irritant assay with minimal animal stress.
abstract: Current aerosol irritant assays trap animals in noxious atmospheres and put a lot of stress on them. For this reason, the Minimal Animal Stress Irritant Assay Chamber (MASIAC) was developed based on the principle of avoidance, and evaluated. The MASIAC reproducibly detected citric acid with more sensitivity than conventionally used assays. With a group of mice tested simultaneously, the responses were not significantly affected by the presence of other mice. In addition, following multiple exposures to citric acid, the mice either sensitized to the irritant, or learned to avoid it. This suggests a number of areas where the MASIAC could be applied, including behavioral and asthma research. If this new method turns out to be as good as currently used assays, it could provide investigators with an alternative, more humane method of evaluating pulmonary irritants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2176 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Karwowski
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: MacLeod
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Quastel
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D001681:Biological Assay; D019343:Citric Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000276:immunology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D019570:Inhalation Exposure; D007509:Irritants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013315:Stress, Psychological
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D007509:Irritants; D019343:Citric Acid