title: When disaster strikes: rethinking caging materials.
abstract: The value of research using lab animals hinges on the ability to carry out experiments in a tightly controlled environment. Diet, caging materials (e.g., cages and water bottles), and other environmental variables have the potential to create serious disruptions in animal studies. The authors describe the inadvertent damage of polycarbonate caging materials during the course of routine cagewashing, providing an instructive example and illustrating the importance of defined and controlled environmental conditions in biomedical research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106-4955, USA.
authors.forename: Kara E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Koehler
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Voigt
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lamb
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Urban
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hassold
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Hunt
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D000830:Animals, Laboratory; D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations / Q000139:chemically induced; D003902:Detergents / Q000737:chemistry; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004968:Estrogens, Non-Steroidal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006799:Housing, Animal; D007756:Laboratory Animal Science; D008136:Longevity / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D010636:Phenols / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D000098826:Bisphenol A Compounds
chemical_list: D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds; D003902:Detergents; D004968:Estrogens, Non-Steroidal; D010636:Phenols; D011108:Polymers; C017902:lexan; C006780:bisphenol A; D000098826:Bisphenol A Compounds