Infarct Measurement in Focal Cerebral Ischemia: TTC Staining

Focal cerebral ischemia is the commonest type of human strokes. Several animal models of focal brain ischemia have been developed to resemble human strokes closely. Infarct volume is an essential indicator of how severe the ischemic damage is 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining is a frequently used method to determine the infarct induced by focal cerebral ischemia in rat or mouse. TTC is white salt and substrate of dehydrogenases. TTC metabolite is a red dye, which turns the cell red. As a result, viable tissue is stained red while dead tissue is left unstained. This chapter introduces TTC stain’s brief history, required material and tools, and typical procedure and its alternative approaches.