ABSTRACT
Acute traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) represents one of the most devastating injuries that afflict the human body. Ascorbic acid ( AA) plays an important role in mammalian central nervous system, especially in SCI. In this study, the change of AA concentration after SCI was investigated by using an on-line electrochemical method integrated with in vivo microdialysis. A microdialysis probe (2 mm in length) was implanted into the spinal cord of an anesthetized rat (Thoracic-10). Microdialysis perfusate (2 μL/ min) was collected in the sample loop of an on-line injector for direct injection onto a glassy carbon electrode which was modified with the heat-treated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Normal ascorbic acid concentration in the extracellular fluids of spinal cords was (26. 17 ± 1. 25) μmol/ L (n =8). The experimental spinal cord injury, induced by a lesion at T-10, significantly increased the extracellular ascorbic acid levels to (53. 24± 1. 95) μmol/ L (n =8). This study provides the experimental evidence on the essential roles of ascorbic acid in spinal cord injuries.