The stability of 6-hydroxydopamine under minipump conditions

Summary A number of investigators have recently used osmotic minipumps to continuously deliver the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) to kitten cerebral cortex for periods up to 7 days. Because this compound is known to be particularly labile, we studied the stability of 6-OHDA stored under conditions similar to those found in an osmotic minipump. In 0.4% ascorbic acid, 4 mM 6-OHDA-HBr was found to be stable for at least one week as determined by (1) assay of the drug by high performance liquid chromatography and electrochemical detection and (2) test of the drug's ability to deplete mouse heart norepinephrine.We acknowledge the support of NIMH grant MH31706 to Dr. R.L. Patrick, NIH grant NS13031 to Dr. F.F. Ebner and ONR contract N0014-82-K-0136 to Dr. L.N. Cooper. We are grateful for the technical assistance of Robert J. Clinton, Jr.