Overview

ALZET osmotic pumps are miniature, implantable pumps used for research in mice, rats, and other laboratory animals. These infusion pumps continuously deliver drugs, hormones, and other test agents at controlled rates from one day to four weeks without the need for external connections or frequent handling. Their unattended operation eliminates the need for repeated nighttime or weekend dosing.

ALZET pumps can be used for systemic administration when implanted subcutaneously or intraperitoneally. They can be attached to a catheter for intravenous, intracerebral, or intra-arterial infusion. ALZET pumps can also be used for targeted delivery, where the effects of a drug or test agent are localized in a particular tissue or organ, by means of a catheter. The pumps have been used to target delivery to a wide variety of sites including the spinal cord, spleen, liver, organ or tissue transplants, and wound healing sites.

ALZET pumps have been used in thousands of studies on the effects of controlled delivery of a wide range of experimental agents, including peptides, growth factors, cytokines, chemotherapeutic drugs, addictive drugs, hormones, steroids, and antibodies. Due to the unique mechanism by which ALZET pumps operate, compounds of any molecular conformation can be delivered predictably at controlled rates, independent of their physical and chemical properties. A bibliography of pump work which has been documented in the scientific literature is available, as is information on the osmotic delivery mechanism of ALZET pumps.

ALZET pumps are intended for use in experimental animals only. They are not to be placed into animals used for food products. They are not to be used in humans.

Pump Advantages

• Ensure around-the-clock exposure to test agents at predictable levels
• Permit continuous administration of short half-life proteins and peptides
• Provide a convenient method for the chronic dosing of laboratory animals
• Minimize unwanted experimental variables and ensure reproducible, consistent results
• Eliminate the need for nighttime or weekend dosing
• Reduce handling and stress to laboratory animals
• Small enough for use in mice or very young rats
• Allow for targeted delivery of agents to virtually any tissue
• Cost-effective research tool