A technology that allows avoiding the suffering of animals involved in scientific experiments developed by a team of researchers from the University of Coimbra (UC) was distinguished with the “3Rs Refinement Prize”.
This technology makes it possible to replace the forced oral administration of drugs in animal experiments, thus contributing to the well-being of animals tested in the laboratory.
This new method avoids another invasive method that “consists of administering drugs or other substances to animals through a tube inserted into the stomach, causing pain and stress”, says the UC in a press release sent today to the Lusa agency.
This work took place within the scope of the research project “HaPILLness – Voluntary oral dosing in rodents” and was carried out at the Instituto de Investigação Clínica e Biomédica de Coimbra (iCBR), of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra (FMUC), with the collaboration of Coimbra Higher School of Health Technology (ESTeSC) of the Polytechnic Institute.
The project was carried out by researchers Sofia Viana, Flávio Reis and Inês Preguiça.
“The researchers created semi-solid matrices (a kind of gum) capable of incorporating the drugs under test and which the animals ingest voluntarily and precisely”, explains the note.
The solution has already been validated in rats and mice, the two animal models most used in the laboratory.
“It is a ‘stress free’ technology, which means that it minimizes the bias of experimental results due to the effect of stress caused on animals”, says, quoted by the UC, project coordinator Sofia Viana.
“The other great advantage is the fact that it is a metabolically inert solution, that is, a technology that can be used in a very wide range of experiments, such as, for example, metabolic diseases, central nervous system diseases and gastrointestinal diseases, among others. others,” he adds.
The technology was awarded the “3Rs Refinement Prize” by EPAA – The European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing, a partnership that integrates stakeholders from different areas, such as the European Commission, health, environment and animal defense federations. animals, and more than three dozen pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.
“As it is not possible to eliminate tests on animals, the alternative is to adopt procedures that increase their well-being, reflected in the improvement of the quality and reproducibility of the results of the studies”, emphasize Sofia Viana and Flávio Reis.
According to the note, the next phase of the investigation involves validating the technology in disease models, “namely metabolic, degenerative (of the central nervous system) and gastrointestinal diseases”.