Moist Chamber

Very flexible and useful standard jacketed and fully heated chamber for ex-vivio perfusion of most abdominal organs from typical rodent models.

This temperature-controlled Moist Chamber with metal tube heat exchanger is intended for perfusion of isolated organs of small experimental animals such as kidney, liver or mesenteric bed of mice, rats or guinea pigs. It has been designed to perfuse thesd isolated organs under best physiological temperatured conditions. Organ perfusion of a few hours to one day are possible. For long term perfusions choose the fully airtight autoclavable moist chamber.  

The organs in the chamber can be perfused under constant pressure or constant flow. This temperature-controlled Moist Chamber can be used in combination with other HSE perfusion systems (e.g. UP-100) or as stand alone chamber with the PLUGSYS measurement system.

Features & Benefits
Applications
Special Application: The Rat Mesenteric Bed
Working System Requirements
Included and Required Components
Operations & Setup

Features & Benefits

• Superior temperature control of perfusate and organ
• Precise positioning of cannulae and measurement probes
• Compact and easy to use
• Compatible with a variety of accessories, making it suitable for a wide range of applications
• Provides a complete perfusion system when combined with the UP-100 or a perfusion control system with pressure and flow regulation

Applications

• Rodent isolated organ perfusion—liver, kidney, pancreas, mesenteric bed
• Investigation of the tone of small blood vessels under the effect of vasoactive substances
• Biochemistry—studying metabolic processes
• Drug studies—testing of vasodilative drugs, testing of side effects of any drug
• Transplantation studies and studies on preservation solutions

Special Application: The Rat Mesenteric Bed

The key part of the perfusion system for the rat mesenteric bed is the moist chamber. The mesenteric tissue is placed into the moist chamber on a stainless steel mesh (replaces the silicone plate) which also acts as anode during electrical stimulation.

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 Working System Requirements

In order to work, the moist chamber requires the following additonal items:

• A thermostated circulation waterbath, capacity approximately 3 to 5 liter, distilled water and algal growth inhibitor, e.g.ThermCleanr
• A carbogen source for aeration. Either a central supply or a carbogen cylinder with a pressure reducing valve
• A reservoir for the perfusate, possibly with a gas frit for aeration
• A bubble trap which is placed into the chamber, directly in front of the perfused organ 
• A pump, usually a roller pump, with the required output, e.g. Reglo Digital 834, output adjustable up to 30 ml/min per channel
• An adapted cannulae set, depending of perfused organ and size 

Additionally we recommend for the accurate measurement of the perfusion pressure:

• A pressure transducer for measuring the perfusion pressure, e.g. an APT300 or P75 transducer
• A bridge amplifier (e.g. HSE TAM-A or TAM-D) to amplify the signal and to make it suitable for a PC based recording system (e.g. HSE BDAS Software)
• Measurement of additional parameters (e.g. perfusion flow, pH, pCO2, temperature) may be useful depending on the particular application involved in the experiment.

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Included and Required Components

Included items: Jacketed moist chamber with metal tube heat exchanger, jacketed cover and silicone plate, and two miniholder arms to hold and fix the perfusion cannulae

 Additional equipment required: Thermocirculator, bubble trap, cannulae, holders, peristaltic pump, transducers, monitoring system setup. Recording and evaluation of the signals uses BDAS or LabChart software. For constant pressure perfusion the SCP and TAM-D modules, along with PLUGSYS housing, are needed in addition to the peristaltic pump.

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Operation & Setup

In its most basic configuration, the Moist Chamber consists of a suitably deep (110 x 40 x 35 mm) organ chamber and cover. Both components are double-walled and water-jacketed to provide a stable temperature-controlled environment within the organ chamber. The perfusate is warmed by passage through a built-in heat exchanger.

A bubble trap should be used in the perfusate path immediately before contact with the organ. The 73-3692 bubble trap is placed in the moist chamber or on an operating table in front of the perfused organ. The 73-2780 bubble trap is used with a 1.5. RB flow probe (73-4670) and requires the TTFM-2 Transit Time Flowmeter Module.

Inside the chamber, a flexible silicone platform acts as a rest for fixation (aided by the use of fixing pins when necessary) of the organ. Anchors for our Mini Ball Joint positioning system and precision arterial and venous cannulae are pre-drilled on both sides of the organ. In addition, several measurement and sample ports are provided for easy access to the inner chamber, even with the cover in place, making the chamber suitable for collecting a wide range of physiological data.

This Moist Chamber can be part of a simple constant flow perfusion system. Used as such, a water-jacketed buffer reservoir, peristaltic pump and appropriate cannulae are used to complete the perfusion circuit, while a thermocirculator feeds the water-jacketed components to maintain the thermostating circuit. The Moist Chamber can also be used in conjunction with the UP-100 or a perfusion control system to allow for constant pressure perfusion.

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