ICE Bioscience provides comprehensive in vivo pharmacology services to evaluate the efficacy and functional effects of CNS drug candidates across a range of neurological, neurodegenerative, pain, and psychiatric disorders. With capabilities spanning advanced surgical techniques, disease-relevant animal models, specialized behavioral assessments and mechanistic studies, we tailor study designs to specific therapeutic indications and research objectives, supporting efficacy assessment of candidate compounds from early discovery through translational research.
Precise drug administration is essential for evaluating CNS candidates with different delivery requirements, target sites, and pharmacological objectives. Our experienced team provides a range of administration and surgical techniques to support systemic exposure, brain-targeted delivery, direct cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) administration, and region-specific CNS studies.
| Administration Route | Target Site | Typical Applications | Major Advantages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Gavage (PO) | Systemic circulation | Chronic efficacy, PK, toxicology | Clinically relevant, convenient |
| Intraperitoneal (IP) | Systemic circulation | Small molecules, routine pharmacology | Simple, rapid, economical |
| Intravenous (IV) | Blood circulation | PK/PD, biologics, nanoparticles | Immediate systemic exposure |
| Jugular Vein Catheter Infusion | Blood circulation | Continuous infusion, PK studies | Stable plasma concentration, long-term dosing |
| Intranasal Administration | Brain (olfactory/trigeminal pathway) | Peptides, proteins, nanoparticles, CNS delivery | Non-invasive BBB bypass |
| Common Carotid Artery Injection | Cerebral circulation | Brain-targeted delivery, BBB studies | High brain exposure |
| Intrathecal Injection | CSF / spinal cord | Pain, ALS, SMA, spinal diseases | Direct CSF administration, avoids BBB |
| DRG-guided Transforaminal Injection | Dorsal Root Ganglion | Neuropathic pain, sensory neuron targeting | Highly localized peripheral nervous system delivery |
| Stereotaxic Brain Injection | Specific brain nucleus | AAV, toxins | Gold standard for precise CNS targeting |
| Brain Cannulation & Microinjection | Selected brain region | Chronic drug infusion, microdialysis, repeated administration | Long-term local administration without repeated surgery |
Our CNS in vivo pharmacology platform combines disease-relevant animal models with behavioral and functional assessments to characterize drug efficacy and pharmacological responses. Studies can be designed around the intended indication, mechanism of action, and translational objectives, with capabilities spanning small and large animal models.
We provide a broad portfolio of behavioral assays to evaluate cognition, sensorimotor function, emotional behaviors, pain responses, and motor performance in rodent models.
| Main Behavioral Domain | Behavioral Test | Main Disease Applications |
|---|---|---|
| Conditioned avoidance; antipsychotic-sensitive behavior | Conditioned Avoidance Response | Schizophrenia, major depressive disorder |
| Associative learning; contextual and cued memory | Fear Conditioning Test | Alzheimer's disease, anxiety, psychiatric disorders |
| Spatial learning and reference memory | Morris Water Maze | Alzheimer's disease, cognitive impairment |
| Recognition memory | Novel Object Recognition | Alzheimer's disease, cognitive impairment |
| Sensorimotor gating | Prepulse Inhibition | Schizophrenia |
| Acute thermal nociception | Tail-Flick Test | Pain |
| Working memory; spontaneous alternation | Y-Maze Test | Alzheimer's disease, cognitive impairment |
| Anxiety-like behavior | Elevated Plus Maze | Major depressive disorder, anxiety, psychiatric disorders |
| Mechanical nociception / mechanical allodynia | Electronic von Frey Test | Neuropathic and inflammatory pain |
| Locomotor activity, exploration, anxiety-like behavior | Open Field Test | Parkinson's disease, major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety |
| Major depressive disorder-like behavior / behavioral despair | Forced Swim Test | Major depressive disorder |
| Thermal nociception / thermal hyperalgesia | Hargreaves Plantar Test | Neuropathic, inflammatory, postoperative pain |
| Neuromuscular strength | Grip Strength Test | Parkinson's disease, neuromuscular dysfunction, general toxicity |
| Motor coordination, balance and motor learning | Rotarod Test | Parkinson's disease, motor dysfunction |
Our large animal capabilities extend in vivo pharmacology beyond rodent models, supporting translational efficacy evaluation and functional assessment in dogs, pigs, and non-human primates, according to study requirements. Representative study capabilities include:
Evaluation of pain-related responses and pharmacological effects.
Assessment of emetic responses to support pharmacological characterization.
Evaluation of cognitive performance in non-human primates.
Understanding how a candidate compound produces its effects is essential for validating its mechanism of action and interpreting in vivo efficacy. Our mechanistic studies platform integrates brain function monitoring, neuroimaging, molecular biology, and histopathology to investigate pharmacological responses at functional, anatomical, and molecular levels.
Patch-clamp recordings in hippocampal and other brain slices to assess drug effects on neuronal excitability and synaptic function.
Simultaneous recording from hippocampus, frontal cortex, occipital cortex and parietal cortex via implantable electrodes, enabling network-level analysis of drug-induced neural activity changes.
Continuous sampling of extracellular neurotransmitters and biomolecules, coupled with LC-MS/MS or HPLC detection for dynamic neurochemical profiling.
T2-weighted and advanced MRI sequences for evaluating brain atrophy, lesion volume and structural changes in disease models.
Molecular imaging for target engagement, receptor occupancy and CNS biodistribution studies.
Quantification of target proteins and relevant signaling markers.
Assessment of gene expression and molecular responses.
Detection and localization of cell-specific and disease-associated markers to characterize cellular responses and pathological changes.
Visualization of target protein expression and distribution in tissue sections to evaluate disease pathology and drug effects.
Ultrastructural analysis of cells and tissues to investigate subcellular changes associated with disease and treatment.
We value your inquiries and are here to provide you with tailored solutions for your drug discovery and development needs. Whether you have questions, require more information, or are interested in discussing potential collaborations, our team of experts is just a message away.
Feel free to reach out to us.
Address: Bldg 16, Yd 18, Kechuang 13th St, Etown, Tongzhou Dist, Beijing, 100176, China
Email: marketing@ice-biosci.com
Tel：+86-10-67809840
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