Hi everyone,
Could someone explain why the combination of ketamine/xylazine is preferred (vs pentobarbital) to perform transcardiac perfussion for the preparation of striatum slices (for patch-clamp recordings)?
Thank you for your help!
Diego
The choice between pentobarbital and ketamine/xylazine for anesthesia in brain slice experiments depends on the specific requirements and goals of the experiment.
Pentobarbital is a barbiturate that is commonly used as a general anesthetic. It is considered to be a convenient choice for brain slice experiments because it acts quickly, has a relatively short duration of action, and provides reliable and stable anesthesia.
On the other hand, ketamine and xylazine are used together as a mixture because ketamine provides anesthesia and xylazine provides muscle relaxation. This combination is a convenient choice for brain slice experiments because it provides reliable anesthesia and does not affect the electrophysiological properties of the brain slices.
In conclusion, both pentobarbital and ketamine/xylazine have their advantages and disadvantages, and the choice between them will depend on the specific requirements and goals of the experiment. It is important to carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages of each anesthetic and to choose the one that is most appropriate for the experiment.
Thanks for the answer Rodolfo. I like the structure of your answer, very similar to the typical ChatGPT structure ;)
Can someone deepen a bit more on this question? What would be the particular advances of using ketamine/xylazine for the preparation of striatum slices?
Diego: I don't know that anyone has ever formally compared the two methods to determine if one is better than the other. One thing to consider is that pentobarbital can be increasingly in limited supply (Euthasol, a pharmaceutical grade pentobarb/phenytoin combination, is commonly used by some labs, and is preferred by vets). Ketamine/xylazine is often used for surgical procedures, so my guess is that labs that have a routine supply of that for surgery would also use it for anesthesia prior to perfusion.
Hello Diego,
you may find some details may help in this article
Article THE effect of general anesthetics on genetic absence epileps...
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