KR101476635B1 - Whole-body Inhalation Exposure Chamber, and Apparatus Using the Chamber - Google Patents

Abstract

Provides a whole body exposure test chamber and test apparatus that does not require a large amount of facility cost and does not confine the experimental animals in a confined space.
The whole body exposure test chamber 1 is provided with a breeding box 2, a net bottom 3, an air outlet member 4, a hopper 5, and a gas supply member 6. The breeding box 2 or the hopper 5 is made of a transparent body and the openings 2c and 5c are butted against each other. The exhaust port member 4 passes through the bottom plate 2a of the feeding box 2 and is connected to the exhaust pipe 7. The exhaust port member (4) has an exhaust port (4a) facing sideways so as not to attract dust falling through the net bottom (3). The hopper 5 cooperates with the breeding box 2 to form a closed space. The air supply mechanism member 6 is attached so as to penetrate through the top plate 5a of the hopper 5 and is connected to an external air supply source 8 for delivering the test gas into the feeding box 2. The feed mechanism member (6) is provided with a feed mechanism (19d) for diffusing a vortex of the gas to be inspected through the hopper (5) into the breeding box.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a whole body exposure test chamber,

The present invention relates to a chamber for performing a suction test in a whole body exposure (exposure) manner without restraining a small animal to be examined such as a rat or a mouse, and a whole body exposure test apparatus using the chamber.

Conventionally, as a method of inhalation experiment for examining the influence of a drug on a living body by administering a drug to a small laboratory animal such as a rat, a mouse or a guinea pig, two methods of a whole body exposure method and a base exposure method are known have. In the whole body exposure method, an experimental animal is housed in an experimental container, sealed, and the test substance is supplied from one side of the container, and the mixed gas of the residual gas of the test substance and the exhalation gas of the test animal is discharged from the other side. The non-exposure method is a method for exposing the test substance-containing air to an air-permeable inner tube, a non-exposed nozzle mounted on the inner-air tube, and a gas- And an experimental animal holder attached to the outer tube at a position opposite to the bare exposed nozzle, and the test substance from the bare exposed nozzle is injected into the experimental animal by the inspiration of the experimental animal (for example, See Patent Document 1). Among them, since the test chamber is large and accommodates a large number of cages therein, it is difficult to observe the appearance of each animal from the outside and requires a large amount of facility cost, Is suitable for exposure experiments using expensive test materials or small test materials because they can be tested at smaller exposure volumes than systemic exposure methods. On the other hand, in the nasal exposure method, the experimental animals are restrained in the cylindrical holder for a long period of time, thereby giving stress to the experimental animals such as suppression of weight gain, thereby affecting the reliability of the test results. Can not be observed. It is also undesirable from the viewpoint of animal welfare.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-187192

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a test chamber of a whole body exposure method that does not require a large amount of facility cost and does not confine an experimental animal in a narrow space for a long time, and a whole body exposure test apparatus using the same.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the appended drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

In order to solve the above problems, the whole body exposure test chamber (1) of the present invention includes a breeding box (2) capable of breeding a plurality of experimental animals (A) therein, A hopper 5 for forming a closed space in cooperation with the feeding box 2 and a feeding device 4 for feeding the test gas into the feeding box 2, And a feed mechanism member (6) provided on the top plate (5a) of the hopper (5) for feeding out the hopper (5). Either or both of the breeding box 2 or the hopper 5 is made of a transparent resin such as transparent synthetic resin or glass. The breeding box 2 has a substantially rectangular bottom plate 2a, a side plate 2b rising from the peripheral edge of the bottom plate and an approximately rectangular opening 2c surrounded by the upper edge of the side plate 2b. The net bottom 3 is provided at a lower portion in the breeding box 2 and at a predetermined distance from the bottom plate 2a so as to be placed on the experimental animal A. The exhaust port member 4 is located below the net bottom 3 and is attached to penetrate the bottom plate 2a of the breeding box 2 and is connected to an external exhaust pipe 7. The exhaust port member 4 has an exhaust port 4a directed sideways so as not to attract dust falling through the net bottom 3. The hopper 5 includes a top plate 5a, an oblique side plate 5b extending downward from the circumferential edge of the top plate in a substantially quadrangular pyramid shape in four directions, and a substantially rectangular opening 5b surrounded by the lower edge of the oblique side plate 5b And this opening 5c is hermetically joined to the opening 2c of the feeding box 2 so as to cooperate with the feeding box 2 to form a closed space. The oblique side plate 5b of the hopper 5 is provided with a plurality of openable and closable insertion ports 5d for inserting an accessory such as various measuring instruments therein. The air supply mechanism member 6 is attached so as to penetrate through the top plate 5a of the hopper 5 and is connected to an external air supply source 8 for delivering the test gas into the feeding box 2. The air supply mechanism member 6 is provided with a feed mechanism 19d for diffusing a vortex of the gas to be inspected through the hopper 5 into the breeding box.

The whole body exposure test apparatus (11) of the present invention is configured by arranging a plurality of the test chambers (1) and holding them in the rack (12). A meter such as an internal pressure monitor 13, an internal temperature monitor 14 and an exhaust flow rate monitor 15 provided corresponding to each of the chambers 1 or an operation knob 16 of the intake / And a control panel 17 in which a plurality of control operation terminals such as the control panel 17 are assembled.

Since the whole body exposure test chamber of the present invention and the test apparatus using the chamber can be miniaturized, it does not require a large facility cost and does not confine experimental animals in a narrow space for a long time, And combines the advantages of a large full-body exposure test facility and a small bore exposure test system.

1 is a front view of a chamber for whole body exposure test according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a side view of the chamber for the whole body exposure test of Figure 1;
3 is a top view of the chamber for the whole body exposure test of Fig.
4 is a sectional view (end view) taken along the line IV-IV in Fig.
5 is a front view of a whole body exposure test apparatus according to the present invention.
6 is a side view of the whole body exposure test apparatus of FIG.
7 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the whole body exposure test apparatus of FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 to 4, the whole body exposure test chamber 1 includes a breeding box 2 capable of breeding a plurality of experimental animals A such as a mouse inside thereof, A hopper 5 made of a transparent synthetic resin for forming a closed space in cooperation with the breeding box 2, And a feed mechanism member (6) provided on the top plate (5a) of the hopper (5) for feeding the test gas into the box (2). Either or both of the breeding box 2 or the hopper 5 is made of a transparent material such as a synthetic resin or glass in order to facilitate observation of the laboratory animal inside.

The breeding box 2 is made of transparent synthetic resin or metal and has a substantially rectangular bottom plate 2a, a side plate 2b rising from the periphery of the bottom plate 2a, and a side plate 2b surrounded by the upper edge of the side plate 2b And has an approximately rectangular opening 2c (Fig. 1).

The net bottom 3 is provided at a lower portion in the breeding box 2 and at a distance from the bottom plate 2a. The laboratory animal (A) is placed on the net bottom (3), and the manure or residue passes through the net bottom (3) and falls on the bottom plate (2a). A partition net for dividing the inside of the breeding box into a plurality of divisions can be connected to the net bottom (3).

As shown in Figs. 1 and 7, the exhaust port member 4 is located below the net bottom 3, is attached to penetrate the bottom plate 2a of the cage box, Is connected to an external exhaust pipe (7) for sucking air in the exhaust pipe (2). The vent hole member 4 is provided with a plurality of sideways exhaust ports 4a in the cage box 2 so as not to attract dust falling through the net bottom 3.

1 to 3, the hopper 5 is made of a transparent synthetic resin and includes a top plate 5a, an inclined side plate 5b extending downward from the peripheral edge of the top plate to a quadrangular pyramid shape, (Fig. 1) surrounded by the lower edges of the upper and lower portions 5a and 5b. The opening 5c is hermetically joined to the opening 2c of the cage box 2 so that the hopper 5 and the cage box 2 cooperate to form a closed space. A packing is interposed between the end faces of the openings 2c and 5c, and the peripheral edge is clamped by the clamp 9. By loosening the clamp 9, the hopper 5 and the feeding box 2 are detachable.

The oblique side plate 5b of the hopper 5 is provided with a plurality of openable and closable insertion ports 5d for inserting an accessory such as a thermometer, a gas concentration meter, and various measuring instruments and sampling instruments therein.

On the top plate 5a of the hopper, a substantially cylindrical feed member 6 with its top closed is attached so as to penetrate the top plate 5a. The air supply mechanism member (6) is connected to an external air supply source (8) for sending the gas to be inspected in the feeding box (2). As shown in Fig. 4, the air supply mechanism member 6 has an air supply mechanism 19d which opens at an angle? Inclined with respect to the radial direction R of the air supply mechanism member 6, And diffuses into the box (2).

The whole body exposure test apparatus 11 includes a plurality of test chambers 1 arranged on a rack 12 and holding the test chambers 1 and an internal pressure monitor 13 corresponding to each chamber 1, And a plurality of control panels 17 in which a flow monitor 15 and an operation knob 16 of the intake and exhaust amount regulating valve are assembled.

1, the feed mechanism member 6 of the hopper 5 in the chamber 1 has a substantially cylindrical base member 18 fixed to the top plate 5a, And a connecting member (19) which is freely attachable and detachable via a clamp (20).

As shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the connecting member 19 includes a main body 19a, a connecting pipe 19b extending laterally from the main body, and a fixing metal 19c. The main body 19a is a substantially cylindrical body with its top closed, and its lower end is joined to the base member 13. [ The connection pipe 19b extends horizontally from the main body 19a at an angle? Inclined with respect to the radial direction R of the main body 19a in Fig. 3 and has one end opened to the inside of the main body 19a, And the other end side is connected to the air supply tube 8 (one of the clean air supply pipe 8a and the other of the test substance containing gas supply pipe 8b) via the branch pipe.

One end side of the fixing metal piece 19c is fixed to the upper surface of the main body 19a and extends laterally horizontally and has a connecting portion fixed to the rack 12 at an upper end portion thereof bent upward.

5 and 6, on the rack 12, there are provided a pair of left and right guide rails 21 for holding the bottom portion of the chamber 1 and a pair of guide rails 21 for holding the chamber 1 at predetermined set positions on the guide rails 21 The stopper 22 for positioning is fixed. The guide rail 21 horizontally extends in the front-rear direction, and holds the chamber 1 in a freely sliding manner in the front-rear direction.

A connection port lever 23 is provided on the rack 12 between the pair of guide rails 21. The connection port lever 23 has a connection port member 24 and is pivotally mounted on the rack 12 by a hinge 25 on the rear end side and has a pawl member 26 on the front end side. The connection port lever 23 is rotatable between a connection position (solid line in Fig. 6) arranged horizontally and a non-connection position (a virtual line in Fig. 6) in which the front end is opened downward, To the rack (12). 7, the connection port member 24 has a connection port 24a connected to the exhaust pipe 7. When the connection port lever 23 is in the connection position, the exhaust port 24a of the chamber 1 at the set position Tightly communicates with the member (4).

In the case of using the test apparatus, a plurality of laboratory animals are housed in the breeding box 2 in a state in which the hopper 5 is detached. Then, the hopper 5 is put on the breeding box 2, So that the chamber 1 is formed. The feed mechanism member 6 of the hopper 5 is separated from the base member 18 and the connecting member 19 and only the base member 18 is attached to the hopper 5. In this state, The connecting member 19 is separated from the base member 18 and fixed to the predetermined position on the rack 12 by a fixing bracket 19c. The chamber 1 is placed on the guide rail 21 on the rack 12 and the chamber 1 is positioned at a predetermined set position when the rear portion is pushed into contact with the stopper 22. In this set position, since the base member 18 of the air supply mechanism member 6 and the connecting member 19 are jointed, they are hermetically connected to the clamp 20. Further, at this position, the connection lever 23 is disposed at the connection position, and the connection member 24 is hermetically connected to the exhaust port member 4 when the connection member 24 is hooked on the rack 12 with the striking member 26. When the plurality of chambers 1 are set on the rack 12 in this manner, the test apparatus 11 is constituted.

After the air pressure in each chamber 1 and the concentration of the test substance are adjusted in advance, the test is started. The appearance of the laboratory animal (A) in the chamber (1) can be easily observed through the gradually transparent hopper (5). The hopper 5 can be made of metal. In this case, the inside of the cage 2 can be observed by making the cage 2 a transparent body.

The test chambers of the conventional whole body exposure test apparatus are designed assuming the maximum number of experimental animals accommodated therein (the number of cages). This increases the size of the chamber and increases the floor area per unit and the height of the test room required for installation. Further, since the number of chambers required in accordance with the test conditions is increased, a large cost is required for the installation equipment and a large running cost is required.

According to the whole body exposure test apparatus 11 according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the small test chamber 1 is constituted by the breeding box 2 of the experimental animals, the large facility investment, the running cost, The whole body exposure test apparatus 11 can be constituted by freely combining a plurality of chambers 1 according to the test purpose. The chambers 1 can be separated from the feeding box 2 and the hopper 5 and the feeding mechanism members 6 can be separated from the base member 18 and the connecting member 19, Can be easily performed.

One… chamber
2… Breeding box
2a ... Bottom plate
2b ... shroud
2c ... Opening
3 ... Net floor
4… Exhaust port member
5 ... Hopper
5a ... Top plate
5b ... Inclined shroud
5c ... Opening
5d ... parenthesis
6 ... A supply mechanism member
7 ... vent pipe
8… A power plant
9 ... clamp
11 ... Whole body exposure test system
12 ... Rack
13 ... Internal Pressure Monitor
14 ... Internal temperature monitor
15 ... Exhaust flow monitor
16 ... Operation knob
17 ... Control panel
18 ... Base member
19 ... Connecting member
19a ... The main body
19b ... Connection pipe
19c ... Fixing bracket
19d ... Feed mechanism
20 ... clamp
21 ... Guide rail
22 ... stopper
23 ... Connection port lever
24 ... Connection member
25 ... Hinge
26 ... Absence of the foot

Claims (6)

A breeding box having a bottom plate, a side plate rising from a peripheral edge of the bottom plate, and an opening surrounded by an upper edge of the side plate,
A net bottom provided at a lower portion in the breeding box and spaced apart from the bottom plate so as to be placed on the experimental animal;
An exhaust port member disposed below the bottom of the net and attached to penetrate the bottom plate of the cage box and connected to an exhaust pipe for sucking air in the cage box,
A slanting side plate extending downward from a peripheral edge of the top plate and an opening surrounded by a lower edge of the slanting side plate, the opening being hermetically joined to the opening of the cage box so as to cooperate with the cage box, A hopper to be formed,
And a feed mechanism member attached to the top plate of the hopper so as to penetrate the top plate and connected to a feed pipe for feeding the gas to be tested in the feed box,
Either or both of the breeding box or the hopper is made of a transparent body,
Wherein the exhaust port member has an exhaust port that is laterally directed so as not to attract dust falling through the bottom of the net,
The feed mechanism member has a feed mechanism for diffusing a vortex of the gas to be tested into the cage through the hopper,
Wherein the oblique side plate has a plurality of insertion openings for inserting an accessory device of various measuring instruments therein. A breeding box having a rectangular bottom plate, a side plate rising from a periphery of the bottom plate, a rectangular opening surrounded by an upper edge of the side plate,
A net bottom provided at a lower portion in the breeding box and spaced apart from the bottom plate so as to be placed on the experimental animal;
An exhaust port member disposed below the bottom of the net and attached to penetrate the bottom plate of the cage box and connected to an external exhaust pipe for sucking air in the cage box,
A slope side plate extending in a square horn shape downward from the peripheral edge of the top plate, and a rectangular opening surrounded by the lower edge of the slanted side plate, the opening being hermetically joined to the opening of the cage box A hopper for forming an enclosed space in cooperation with the breeding box,
And a feed mechanism member attached to the top plate of the hopper so as to penetrate the top plate and connected to a feed pipe for feeding the gas to be tested in the feed box,
Either or both of the breeding box or the hopper is made of a transparent body,
Wherein the exhaust port member has an exhaust port that is laterally directed so as not to attract dust falling through the bottom of the net,
The feed mechanism member has a feed mechanism for diffusing a vortex of the gas to be tested into the cage through the hopper,
Wherein the oblique side plate has a plurality of connection ports for inserting an accessory device of various measuring instruments into the chamber. 3. The hopper according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a packing is interposed between the peripheral edge of the opening of the breeding box and the peripheral edge of the opening of the hopper, and both peripheral edges are detachably fastened by a clamp Exposure chamber. A rack for holding and arranging a plurality of chambers for whole body exposure test as set forth in claim 1 or 2;
And a control panel provided on the rack so as to correspond to the chambers. 5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the rack comprises: a pair of left and right guide rails horizontally extending in the front-rear direction so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction of the bottom portion of the chamber; A stopper, and a connection port lever which is positioned between the pair of guide rails and is pivotally mounted on the rear end side,
The connection lever is rotatable between a connection position in which the connection port is horizontally disposed and a non-connection position in which the front end is disposed downward at a predetermined opening angle. The connection port is provided with a pawl member engaged with the rack at the connection position, And a connection port member hermetically communicating with an exhaust port member of the chamber in the chamber,
Wherein the connection member has an exhaust pipe connecting portion for connecting an exhaust pipe connected to the exhaust device. 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the feed mechanism member of the hopper comprises a cylindrical base member fixed to the top plate, and a connecting member removably mountable on the base member via a clamp,
Wherein the connecting member has a cylindrical main body whose upper end is closed and whose lower end is connected to the base member, and a lower end which is horizontally disposed at an angle inclined with respect to the radial direction of the main body, And a fixing bracket having a connecting pipe extending laterally and having a connecting portion fixed to the rack at one end side by being fixed to the main body at one end side.

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