Instrumentation for In Vivo Cerebral NADH Studies in Squirrel Monkey

The optical and electronic design features of a reliable microspectrofluorometer that allows successful microfluorometric studies in areas of brain ischemia over a period of 2.0 hours are described in detail. The apparatus allows moment-to-moment recording of the oxidation-reduction state of brain mitochondria in areas of ischemia and therefore affords the potential of measuring the immediate effect of a variety of drugs designed either to increase blood flow in areas of ischemia or to support marginal metabolism. Problems of choice of anesthetic agent, hemoglobin artifact, photodecomposition, and preparation reliability are discussed.