IUBio

heating brain slices reply

Brad Keele nkeele at beach.utmb.edu
Thu Jul 20 11:59:47 EST 1995


The method our laboratory uses to heat brain slices is quite simple.  We 
have a heater/pump (commercially available from Fisher, model 730) that 
sits in a bucket of regular tap water.  Surgical tubing is connected to 
the outlet of the pump and the runs into the Faraday cage in close 
proximity to the recording chamber.  ACSF is gravity fed through 
polyethylene tubing which passes through the surgical tubing connected to 
the heater, thereby warming the ACSF.  If the flow rate is moderately 
fast (2-3 mL/min) a rather consistent bath temperature can be achieved.  
One note though, this can add quite a bit of noise to the system, but 
adding a litte NaCl or saline to the (heater) water and piercing the 
surgical tubing with some conductor (I use a syringe needle) can make an 
effective ground lead.

Hope this is useful info :-)


In article <3udf69$3an at news.ox.ac.uk>, linc0103 at sable.ox.ac.uk says...
>
>
>Dear Paul
>we use a really elegant little system with a small heating block about 
1.5 
>inches by .5 by .5
>( a metal block with i dont know what inside- some sort of resistor that 
he
>ats up)
>- Our perfusate passes along  pvc tubing and then into and out of the 
heate
>r 4 times
> and then it immediately enter the bath with the slice.  The heater is 
slun
>g under our perspex
>recording chamber and linked to a little 'box' away from the chamber  we 
ca
>n monitor the heater
> temp or more usefully the bath temp with a small probe in the solution 
rig
>ht next to the slice.
>The temp if fairly stable -  even between summer/ winter mine still is 
at t
>he same temp.
>I have just discovered that they are actually made for us in house, but 
tha
>t the electronics
> guy does make and sell them outside the dept. If you contact him next 
week
> ( he's on holiday)
>he'll give you more details, prices etc
>His name is Chris Annetts and his number is 01865 271858.
>I hope this info is of some use to you
>
>Alan McG
>
>

-- 
________________________________________________________
N. Bradley Keele
Neuroscience Graduate Program
UTMB - Pharmacology J-31
Galveston, TX  77445-1031
Voice:  (409) 772-9604
FAX:    (409) 772-9642
  -------------------------------------------------------
    "Once in a while you get shown the light,  
    in the strangest of places                          
    if you look at it right."                                 
                                  --JG                               
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