RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 OpenVape: an Open-Source E-Cigarette Vapour Exposure Device for Rodents JF eneuro JO eNeuro FD Society for Neuroscience SP ENEURO.0279-20.2020 DO 10.1523/ENEURO.0279-20.2020 A1 Jude A. Frie A1 Jacob Underhill A1 Bin Zhao A1 Giordano de Guglielmo A1 Rachel F. Tyndale A1 Jibran Y. Khokhar YR 2020 UL http://www.eneuro.org/content/early/2020/08/28/ENEURO.0279-20.2020.abstract AB The prevalence of "vaping" has recently seen significant increases in North America, especially in adolescents. However, the behavioural correlates of vaping are largely unexplored. The uptake of existing technologies meant for rodent vapour inhalation remains limited due to a lack of affordability and versatility (ability to be used with a variety of vapourizers). The OpenVape offers an open-source, low-cost solution that can be used in a variety of research contexts. Here we present a specific use case, combining the OpenVape apparatus with JUUL e-cigarettes. This apparatus consists of Arduino-operated vacuum pumps that deliver vapour directly from e-cigarettes to exposure chambers. The OpenVape is easy to build and customize for any type of vapourizer (e.g., nicotine pod or tank; cannabis flower or concentrates). To test the OpenVape, we performed biochemical verification and behavioural studies. The behavioural test (conditioned place preference) was conducted using adolescent and adult animals to assess developmental differences in the rewarding effects of nicotine vapour, as previously observed with injected nicotine. These findings demonstrate that even after brief exposures to nicotine vapour, pharmacologically relevant nicotine and cotinine levels could be detected in plasma, and significant conditioned place preference was observed, especially in adolescent rats which showed preference at shorter puff delivery durations (lower nicotine doses) compared to adults. Together, these findings suggest that OpenVape provides an affordable, open-source option for pre-clinical behavioural research into the effects of vaping.Significance Statement With the recent increases in popularity of vaping, behavioural and neurobiological studies in preclinical models will be pivotal in exploring the impacts of this use. While there are commercially available vapour exposure equipment, they can be prohibitively expensive and often require proprietary software. The OpenVape (OV) is able to deliver regulated doses of vapour into a standard animal cage with minimal operator intervention. The OV is also open-source, easy to build, inexpensive, and can be used in a variety of research contexts due to its small physical footprint. In this study, we validate its efficacy using JUUL e-cigarettes, showing that animals achieve meaningful nicotine levels, and that both adolescent and adult animals display conditioned place preference to the nicotine vapour.