DIY peristaltic perfusion pump and rotarod apparatuses from common and recycled materials

Abstract

To reduce the high costs of research associated with specialized laboratory equipment, the current study aimed to construct and validate two devices (peristaltic perfusion pump and rotarod) critical in physiology, neuroscience, and histology laboratories using largely recycled materials and affordable electrical parts. The resulting systems are comparable to commercially available devices but at a fraction of the cost. The peristaltic perfusion pump has an adjustable flow rate suitable for the whole-body perfusion of rats and mice. Testing in rodents confirmed that the pump operated conveniently and consistently, yielding high-quality tissue perfusion and fixation. The rotarod worked flawlessly in behavioral studies with live mice, yielding speed, torque, acceleration and timing comparable to commercially-available devices. Collectively, the findings indicate that the purpose-built peristaltic perfusion pump and rotarod can be used in research laboratories as cost-effective alternatives to comparable but costly commercial devices.