Performing a Microdialysis Experiment on

Although as yet there is no generally approved probe (except in Sweden) for clinicial microdialysis in humans, a number of papers have reported studies 

For this application, a sterile microdialysis catheter is implanted percutane-ously into the subcutaneous adipose tissue in the periumbilical region using a special stainless steel guide cannula (Rosdahl et al., 1993). The membrane length of 2 to 3 cm and flow rates of 0.1 to 0.5 piL/min should guarantee sufficiently long dialysis time to achieve 100% recovery. Another approach is to use a flat dialysis probe for transcutaneous applications (DeBoer et al., 1993 Korf et al., 1993). Here the skin of newborn babies is first partially removed by stripping with medical tape. Then a microdialysis probe is placed directly onto the exposed skin, usually on the abdomen lateral to the umbilicus (DeBoer et al., 1994). 

The main target for microdialysis implantations is the ECF of various organs, predominantly the brain. The main objective of these studies is to find chemical correlations, as represented by measured neurotransmitter levels, to pharmaceutical, behavioral, pathological, or other stimuli. However, because of its small size a microdialysis probe allows sampling of fluids from other locations without first removing the fluid. Body fluids other than ECF to which the microdialysis technique has been applied are considered in Sections 6.3.1.1 to 6.3.I.6. 

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