MediGel® FAQ
How do I add medications to MediGel Sucralose?
There are two ways to add medications to Sucralose: via syringe through the top of the foil cup lid or by removing the foil lid and mixing the drug directly into the gel.
The most commonly used method is to use a syringe to deliver a medication through the foil lid. After the medication is added, shake the cup vigorously for 10 seconds to mix the medication evenly in the gel. Because Sucralose has a softer gel consistency, no pre-heating of the gel is required. We do, however, recommended having the gel at room temperature before mixing the medication. One trick to ensure that the medication is mixed evenly into the gel is to add a natural food color dye with the medication solution. This enables a visual confirmation of the mixing.
After the medication is added, it is best to place the gel into a refrigerator for 30 minutes prior to using the gel with the animals. The cooler temperature allows the gel to set and also protects the medicant during storage.
One 2oz cup will hydrate and medicate 5 mice for two days.
How do I calculate the medication dosage for using MediGel Sucralose?
To answer this question, it is best to use an example calculation. In this calculation, we are using a drug concentration of 10mg/kg/day.
For a 30 gram mouse, use 10mg/kg x 0.03kg = 0.3mg of drug/day/mouse.
A 30-35 gram mouse on average will consume 7ml of gel per day (about 0.2 ounces), so we would want a concentration of 0.30mg/7ml/gel = 0.04mg/ml.
Because our products are in 2oz containers (60ml), you would want to add 2.4mg of ibuprofen to one cup of MediGel Sucralose (60ml x 0.04mg/ml – 2.4 mg).
One cup of MediGel Sucralose medicates and hydrates 4-5 mice for 2 days.
What is the best way to store MediGel Sucralose?
Unopened MediGel can be stored at room temperature and does not require special handling. Shelf life for unopened MediGel is 24 months.
Once opened (provided the gel has not been contaminated) ClearH2O products can be stored either at room temperature or at 4°C in a sealed bag/container to prevent the product from drying out for approximately 2 weeks