Optimizing mouse brain preparation for microcomputed tomography analyses

The usage of computer based imaging techniques like Computerized Tomography (CT) has become one of the most important tools to diagnose different disease relevant features and illnesses. It allows determination of the location and nature of many different abnormalities inside human bodies, however its utilization is still limited in the field of neurodegenerative disease animal models due to a lack of native CT contrast in soft tissue, especially in the brain. de Crespigny et al. (2008) were reporting about a development of contrast enhancement by immersion staining of fixed brains in iodinated CT contrast media. In this study we aim to determine the optimal concentration of a similar, hydrophilic iodinated contrast agent, Accupaque 240, to achieve the highest contrast of brain tissue. The contrast agent was probed on fresh, frozen and perfusion fixed brain samples. For microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) image acquisition Skyscan 1047 was used. This micro-CT is an invasive, low cost, portable x-ray scanner for non-destructive three-dimensional microscopy. By optimizing sample preparation for micro-CT, high-resolution 3D ex-vivo images can be obtained from mouse brains and disease-relevant alterations can be evaluated (e.g. atrophy, tumor formation, Ab plaques after specific labelling).