Charles River Switches to HydroGel™ for North America Animal Shipments
January 21, 2011 - As part of our ongoing efforts to harmonize our global operations and procedures, Charles River North America will be switching our hydrated transportation gel to HydroGel™ on April 1, 2011.
HydroGel™ is a non-wetting water gel for animal hydration, manufactured by ClearH2O® in its FDA-approved facilities. HydroGel™ is thermo-reversible and high-temperature pasteurized to ensure product sterility and integrity. It is widely accepted by rodents and is particularly efficient for animal transportation because it is clean, dry and single-use. Further details regarding quality assurance and nutritional information for HydroGel™ can be found by clicking here.
HydroGel™ has been used by all Charles River European breeding facilities since July of 2010. It has also been adopted by a number of commercial animal vendors and research institutions as the principal source of hydrated transportation gel.
As of April 1, 2011, HydroGel™ will be used for all shipments of VAF® and VAF/Elite® rodents (rats, mice, hamsters and guinea pigs), rabbits and genetically modified models and will be included in all animal return containers (Sew Easy™, Gnoto-safe™, etc). Surgically altered models will also be shipped with HydroGel™, with the exception of those that require a specific post-surgical supplement such as glucose or sodium.
Charles River will no longer offer Transgel™ as an item for purchase. However, HydroGel™ can be purchased directly from ClearH2O® at www.clearh2o.com.
Our scientific and technical teams are available for any further information. Please do not hesitate to contact us at askcharlesriver@crl.com.