A contract research network of neuroscientists

Tests and Assays

Since 2002, 72% of all NDI studies have come from repeat clients.
NeuroDetective International: Pre-clinical Contract Research and Testing, Assays

Summary of Tests
and Assays @ NDI
 


 

Affective tests 
 

Elevated plus-maze (anxiety; rat, mouse, guinea pig)
Exploratory behavior (Curiosity Task; dog)


General activity (Open Field Test; mouse, rat, dog)


Light/Dark preference (emergence neophobia; rat)


Maternal separation (rat, guinea pig)


Place Conditioning test (rat, mouse)


Social behavior (Human Interaction Test; dog)


 

Cognitive tests 


Modified Barnes maze (foraging/homing; aged rat)
Delayed Matching to Sample (DMTS; working memory)  (primate)


Discrimination behavior (primate)


Passive avoidance


Radial maze (reference and working memory versions)


Social recognition (rat and mouse)


T-maze (rat)


Y-maze (rat and mouse)


Watermaze place learning (Morris task; learning and reference memory) (rat and mouse)


Watermaze place memory (delay dependent; working memory) (rat and mouse)


 

Motor tests


Beam walking

Bracing

Disengage Test

Drug-induced turning (Rotation Test)

Forelimb asymmetry (Cylinder Test)

Grip strength

Grid walking

Landing foot spread test

Open field test

Placing

Rotorod

Single limb akinesia

Skilled reaching (forelimb motor control)

Tail suspension


 

Screening Tests and Assays


Flow cytometry (for immuno-phenotyping, intracellular cytokine or calcium detection, apoptosis assays using TUNEL and Annexin V)


Glutamate induced cell damage


Intra-cellular caspase activity assay


Staurosporine induced cell damage


RNA expression profiling using microarray analysis


 

Morphology


Confocal microscopy


Double fluorescent labeling


Electron microscopy (to examine cellular changes)


Golgi staining (to examine dendritic branching, synaptic density, and terminal sprouting)


Histological evaluation (cryostat, microtome, vibratome)


Neuron and glia counting, using stereological techniques


Myelin staining and fiber counting


Retrograde and anterograde tracing with fluorescent dyes (to examine axon sprouting)


Neurochemistry


APP expression
Beta-Amyloid cell lesion assay


Cell adhesion assay


Cell-free caspase activity assay


DNA sequencing


Expression of genes specified by client


Gel-shift


Gene cloning


Immunohistochemistry (B-amyloid, APP, GFAP, NEUN, OX42, ED1)


In situ hybridization (APP, AB 1-40, AB 1-42 ELISA)


Intracranial microdialysis (freely moving mice/rats)


Neuritic extension assay


Northern Blot


Western Blot


Oligonucleotide synthesis/peptide synthesis


Post-mortem evaluation of amines


Protein labeling and detection using Ettan spot picker


Receptor protein evaluation


Release of neurotransmitters in cell culture


RT-PCR


Tau protein sequestration assay


 

Further tests and assays

 

Allodynia (von Frey thresholds, w/affective component)


Calcium imaging with confocal laser scanning


Circadian activity (Habituation)


Context discrimination


Emesis evaluation


Food hoarding


Hot/cold sensitivity


Nest building


Pre-pulse inhibition

Sleep patterns (EEG, behavior)


Telemetry (heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature), plus general motor activity monitoring and tissue/blood/CSF harvesting


Mass spectrometry


Electrophysiology


Pharmacokinetics


For additional information, please feel free to contact us.

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