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GUIDELINES FOR INJECTION VOLUMES, NEEDLE SIZES AND OSMOTIC

MINIPUMP SIZE CONSIDERATIONS

A. Maximum Injection Volumes and Needle Sizes

A list of recommended maximum injection volumes and needle sizes for a variety ofdosing sites in laboratory animals is provided. It is a guideline and should be used with

good judgment and prior experience. These guidelines apply to healthy, adult animals.

Contact a veterinarian for unhealthy animals, or species or routes not listed.Administration of excessive dose volumes may produce pain, excitement, altered

physiological parameters (e.g., serum electrolyte imbalance, increased blood pressure,

increased respiratory rate, etc.), and cause abnormal compound absorption. A large IM

injection into a small muscle mass may force the dose into fascial planes and SC tissues

that may accelerate lymphatic drainage and may also cause pressure necrosis or nervedamage. For parenteral routes of administration (a route other than PO), it may be less

irritating to administer the dose halved in two separate locations. For studies requiringrepeated parenteral dosing, the same site should not be used for two consecutive

administrations.

Table 1. Recommended Maximum Dosing Volumes

Species POa

IV bolusb IV slow

injectionc

IPa

SCa IM

aIN

a

Mouse 20 ml/kg 10 ml/kg 20 ml/kg 20 ml/kg 20ml/kg

0.05ml/site

2 sites/day

50 l

Rat 20 ml/kg

(max. 5ml)

5 ml/kg

(max. 2.5ml)

10 ml/kg

(max. 2.5 ml)

20 ml/kg

(max. 5ml)

20

ml/kg

0.1 ml/site

2 sites/day

100 l

Hamster 20 ml/kg 5 ml/kg 10 ml/kg 20 ml/kg 20

ml/kg

0.1 ml/site

2 sites/day

100 l

Swine 10 ml/kg

(max 15)

2.5 ml/kg 5 ml/kg 1 ml/kg 1 ml/kg

(max 2)

0.25

ml/kg(max 0.5)

a. IV = intravenous; IP = intraperitoneal; IM = intramuscular; SC = subcutaneous; PO =per os; IN = intranasal drip

b. Bolus injections should be carried out at ~ one minute.c. Factors to consider using slow intravenous injections or intravenous infusion include

solubility or irritancy of the vehicles and compounds. For slow intravenous injection over

the course of 5-10 minutes, a standard needle, a butterfly needle, or an intravenouscatheter may be used.

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Note: Not shown in Table 1 is subplantar injection for mouse/rat: maximum 0.1 ml per

foot (normally one foot).

Table 2 Recommended Intravenous Infusion (Dose Volumes/Rates)

Infusion Period Mouse Rat Swine

Total Daily Volumes (ml/kg)

4 Hour - 20 -

24 Hour 96 60 24

Rate (ml/kg/h)

4 Hour - 5 -

24 Hour 4 2.5 1

(-) data not available

Table 3 Recommended Needle Sizes

SpeciesIV

(bolus)/

slow

injection

(gauge)

IV

(infusion)

(gauge)

IP (gauge) IMa

(gauge)

SC*

(gauge)

PO

Mouse

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Table 4. Pump Models Recommended by Animal Size

Mouse (minimum body weight) Rat (minimum body weight)ALZET

Pump Model # Subcutaneous Intraperitoneal Subcutaneous Intraperitoneal

1003D1007D

1002

10g 20g 10g 20g

2001D2001

2002

20g N/A 20g 150g

2ML12ML2

2ML4

N/A N/A 150g 300g