TTC Staining of Fresh Tissues
Redox Indicator of Metabolic Processes

This method is used for calculation of infarct size in brain or heart tissues, however this stain requires the use of fresh, unpreserved tissue and, as such, is generally offered as an optional assessment to in vivo cardiovascular studies. We use TTC as a redox indicator to differentiate between metabolically active and inactive tissues. Specifically, when TTC is applied to slices of heart tissues following induction of infarct (e.g. middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo), the viable tissue is stained red, while the non-viable infarct remains white.