1305A

3-in-1 Whole Animal System for Rats

The 3-in-1 Whole Animal System delivers accurate and flexible measurement of rodent muscle properties in-situ, in-vivo and in-vitro. Ideal for live animal protocols, including injury and longitudinal studies, it evaluates the mechanical characteristics of intact muscle of rats, either isolated in-situ, with a footplate (in-vivo) or isolated in-vitro. Experimental setup, data collection and data analysis can all be done in a matter of minutes.

By combining in-situ, in-vivo and in-vitro muscle tests, researchers are able to capture a complete picture of muscle physiology in rats. The test system comes with the rat apparatus, complete with temperature controlled animal and limb plates designed to support and fix the animal and limb being tested. It can be converted to an isolated (in-vitro) muscle test system with the attachment of an optional 25 mL bath. Aurora Scientific’s flagship Dual-Mode lever system is also included, permitting measurement and control of both force and length.

Muscle samples are attached at only one point to measure force and length saving time and increasing productivity. The system includes our high-power, field stimulator and all required electrodes.

Control and analysis software comes pre-loaded on a custom PC. Experimental setup, data collection and data analysis can all be done in a matter of minutes with our control and analysis software (DMC/DMA). Parameters such as resting length, resting force, stimulation and the actual test protocol are all set using the control software. An extensive library of standard experimental protocols such as twitch, tetanus, fatigue, force-frequency, force-velocity, stiffness and work loops are also provided with the system.

Rat or larger rodent limb plate for in-situ experiments

Rat or larger rodent foot plate for in-vivo protocols

Horizontal bath for in-vitro protocols

NEW! Order this system with the 150A Integrated Muscle Test Controller. The 150A is a single unit that combines a lever system, stimulator and USB DAQ card into a single controller. This results in a smaller footprint system with minimal cabling that is portable and can be controlled with laptop! When requesting information or pricing, please reference Model 1305B – Integrated in-situ Muscle Test System.

powerful 3-in-1 design: save time and space while increasing productivity
turn-key functionality
high experiment throughput
fast data acquisition and analysis software for Windows
capable of more complex multi-measurement protocols

dual purpose field/nerve stimulator
ideal for live animal protocols: precision platform with temperature control
simple to assemble, operate, and expand as your measurement needs change

Tell the Whole Story – Live Animal & Isolated Tissue in One

The three system configurations allows the researcher to work with a broad range of muscle types, providing a convenient platform for compound screening, phenotype evaluation and comparison of murine models; all within one system.

High Throughput Software Capability

Experience high-throughput data analysis, including batch processing and multi-parameter calculations for hundreds of muscle samples within minutes. Downstream analysis can be completed within Aurora Scientific DMC/DMA software or exported to your analysis program of choice.

Standard Protocol Library

The protocol library includes a variety of muscle experiments for rat in vitro studies. Protocols include system operation and data acquisition settings optimized for sample type and measurement needs. Add your own custom protocols as well to streamline system operation with multiple lab members.

Stories of Success

1305A – Footplate Configuration for Rats Invaluable to the Study of Muscle Damage

CHALLENGE

In 2012, Marius Locke at the University of Toronto had been studying skeletal muscle damage and the role that heat shock proteins (HSPs) play in protecting the muscle from stress induced damage, such as exercise. Dr. Locke was looking for equipment that could reliably and repeatedly induce muscle damage in his rats while accurately quantifying force production and recovery.

SOLUTION

Our 1305A system was suggested for the job as it had the ability to perform the kinds of repeated contractions that Dr. Locke was looking to accomplish. It was first implemented piecemeal to integrate with some existing equipment in the laboratory, but because of its ease of use, the remaining Aurora Scientific pieces were added for a complete system. Aurora Scientific technical support helped craft the best protocols for Dr. Locke’s experiments and soon thereafter the first cohort of rats was tested.

RESULTS

The system has helped Dr. Locke and his graduate students publish valuable findings about the protective role of HSPs in damaged muscle. In addition, Dr. Locke established an important rat model of standard human exercise protocols to gain valuable, physiologically relevant data which may one day be applicable to athletes and people alike.

Select References

Silva-Rojas et al. “Silencing of the Ca2+ Channel ORAI1 Improves the Multi-Systemic Phenotype of Tubular Aggregate Myopathy (TAM) and Stormorken Syndrome (STRMK) in Mice” International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2022) DOI: 10.3390/ijms23136968
Padilla et al. “Profiling age-related muscle weakness and wasting: neuromuscular junction transmission as a driver of age-related physical decline” GeroScience (2021) DOI: 10.1007/s11357-021-00369-3
Padilla et al. “Profiling age-related muscle weakness and wasting: neuromuscular junction transmission as a driver of age-related physical decline” GeroScience (2021) DOI: 10.1007/s11357-021-00369-3
Mintz et al. “Long-Term Evaluation of Functional Outcomes Following Rat Volumetric Muscle Loss Injury and Repair” Tissue Engineering Part A (2020) DOI: 10.1089/ten.TEA.2019.0126
Holwerda, Andrew M. and Marius Locke. “Hsp25 and Hsp72 content in rat skeletal muscle following controlled shortening and lengthening contractions.” Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism (2014) DOI: 10.1139/apnm-2014-0118
Sato et al. “Glucocorticoids Induce Bone and Muscle Atrophy by Tissue-Specific Mechanisms Upstream of E3 Ubiquitin Ligases” Endocrinology (2017) DOI: 10.1210/en.2016-1779
Ibebunjo, Chikwendu et al. “Genomic and proteomic profiling reveals reduced mitochondrial function and disruption of the neuromuscular junction driving rat sarcopenia.” Molecular and Cellular Biology (2013) DOI: 10.1128/MCB.01036-12
Potter et al. “Dose-Escalation Study of Systemically Delivered rAAVrh74.MHCK7.micro-dystrophin in the mdx Mouse Model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy” Human Gene Therapy (2021) DOI: 10.1089/hum.2019.255
Harrigan et al. “Assessing Rat Forelimb and Hindlimb Motor Unit Connectivity as Objective and Robust Biomarkers of Spinal Motor Neuron Function” Scientific Reports (2019) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-53235-w
DeRuisseau, Keith C. et al. “Aging-related changes in the iron status of skeletal muscle.” Experimental Gerontology (2013) DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2013.08.011

System Components

608C: LCD Monitor

A 22” widescreen LCD monitor providing high quality visualization of data collection

Interested in the 1305A Whole Animal System for Rats?

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Resources

Parts & Accessories

Model #	1305A
300-3B	3 cm long replacement lever arm, attaches to 300E or older 300B/C series motors for in-vitro and in-situ measurement
300-4B	4 cm long replacement lever arm, attaches to 305E or older 305B/C series motors for in-vitro and in-situ measurement
300-CLA	Custom length replacement lever arm, attaches to 300/305E or older 300B/C and 305B/C series motors for in-vitro and in-situ measurement
300-CBL-3	3m replacement motor cable (other lengths available on request)
300-CBL-FR	0.4m long cable to reverse force direction of 300E/305E motor
300E-MOTOR	Replacement motor for 300E dual-mode lever system (Lever arm sold separately)
305E-MOTOR	Replacement motor for 305E dual-mode lever system (Lever arm sold separately)
603D	16-bit NI X Series USB A/D with interface
603E	16-bit NI X Series PCI express A/D card
606A	(2) 150cm long BNC to BNC cables
607A	50 Ohm BNC terminator to minimize channel crosstalk within signal interface
615B	2nd Copy of DMC and DMA suite software
615C	DMC and DMA suite software upgrade
808-1	Vertical pin clamp that utilizes a 27G hypodermic needle to immobilize the mouse knee joint during in-situ experiments. It mounts on our family of 3-in -1 apparatus.
808-2	Vertical Screw Clamp that uses sharpened, stainless steel screws and a Delrin pad to fix mouse knee joint during in-situ experiments. It mounts on our family of 3-in-1 apparatus.
808-4	Upright knee clamp designed for mouse or rat that uses a dowel pin with a pad on the end for gentle immobilization of rat knee during in-vivo or in-situ experiments. It mounts on our family of 3-in-1 apparatus.
808-5	Upright knee clamp designed for mouse that uses a horizontal, sharpened stainless steel screw to prevent hind limb/joint movement during in-vivo or in-situ experiments. It mounts on our family of 3-in-1 apparatus.
808-6	Upright knee clamp designed for mouse that uses a horizontal dowel pin with pad for non-invasive knee restraint during in-vivo or in-situ experiments. It mounts on our family of 3-in-1 apparatus.
808-7	Larger upright knee clamp designed for large rats that uses a dowel pin with a pad on the end for gentle immobilization of rat knee during in-vivo or in-situ experiments. It mounts on our family of 3-in-1 apparatus.
809-CBL-EA	Male BNC to female touch proof adapter cable to connect a BNC cable to needle electrodes
809-ELEC	EMG style needle electrodes with touch proof connector (10 pack) for in-vivo and in-situ stimulation
809-ELEC-EEG	EEG style needle electrodes with touch proof connector (10 pack) for in-vivo and in-situ stimulation
809C-25	Horizontal muscle bath which replaces the animal platform on 809C apparatus for in-vitro intact muscle mechanics experiments. The bath couples to the apparatus by removing the 4 screws for the limb platform and using them to attach the bath in its place. The volume of the bath is 25mL. Tools, tubing and fittings are also provided.
801-CBL-EA	Male BNC to Male touch proof adapter cable to connect a BNC cable to the built-in electrodes on the 809C-25
801-RES	1L reservoir assembly complete with built in, oxygenating bubbler. The reservoir is meant to supply oxygenated media to the 809C-25. The reservoir has an outer glass water jacket and can be connected to a circulating water reservoir to maintain perfusate temperature. Tubing and fittings to couple the reservoir are provided.
830A	Half-rack adapter that allows half-rack instruments to be mounted in standard 19” racking. Works with model 701C
831A	Heavy gauge, steel desktop or shelf-top rack, with standard 19” width for any Aurora Scientific Instruments. Available in various heights. (6U high for 1200A and 1300A, 5U high for 1400A, 1500A and 1600A systems).