Contract research


Delta Phenomics has excellent facilities and qualified staff to execute a variety of contract research projects on animal behavior. Examples of our application areas are:
  • Behavioral phenotyping of mutant mouse or rat strains: effects of gene manipulation
  • Safety pharmacology research: wide spectrum analysis of behavior
  • CNS drug discovery: behavioral profiling of compounds
Click here for an overview of our behavioral testing services.

Behavior can be measured under stable and undisturbed conditions, after habituation of the animals (our standard approach). Alternatively, if required, behavior can be measured in interaction with novelty-enhanced arousal (the common approach in classical short-lasting tests).

Integrated behavioral testing  using the PhenoTyper® as an instrumented homecage.
Our research facility houses multiple fully automated systems with large numbers of instrumented PhenoTyper test cages for mice and rats. Through a strategic partnership with Noldus Information Technology, our computer systems have the latest software for data acquisition, analysis, visualization and reporting.
The systems allows fully automated screening of mutant lines or compound libraries with respect to the following brain
functions and behavioral domains:
  • Activity
  • Circadian rhythm
  • Exploration
  • Locomotor activity
  • Cognition (automated learning tasks) 
  • Anxiety 
  • Eating and drinking behavior
  • Anhedonia (appetitive and consummatory aspects)

Stand-alone behavioral tests
In addition to integrated home cage testing, Delta Phenomics uses well-validated batteries of stand-alone tests for mouse mutant phenotyping and drug profiling. These tests address various behavioral domains, including anxiety, cognition, motor and sensory function. All test apparatus (Morris water maze, elevated plus maze, forced swim test, etc.) are automated with advanced video tracking and analysis software.

Animal models
In addition to testing your own animal model we can also offer a variety of animal models on different diseases or behaviors. Delta Phenomics has rodent models for:

Biotechnical operations
Delta Phenomics has modern equipment for anesthesia, stereotactical manipulation and surgery. Our animal technicians are skilled in various routes of drug administration.

How we work with you
Experiment design, analysis and interpretation of the data are carried out in consultation with the customer. The test protocol, including the configuration of sensors and stimuli, can be adapted to the customer’s specifications. An initial report with a detailed analysis on a vast number of behavioral end points is provided within weeks after the completion of data collection. In addition, new behavioral tests specified by customers can be automated too. If necessary, this will involve custom hardware or software development.

A contract research project consists of three phases: