Vital staining of corneal endothelium.
The efficacy and applicability of dual vital staining of human and porcine corneal endothelium with trypan blue and alizarin red S stains was investigated. Exposure of endothelial cells to different concentrations of these two dyes for varying periods of time revealed that 0.3% solution of trypan blue for 1 minute followed by 0.2% solution of alizarin red S (pH 4.2) for 1/2 to 1 minute was the most useful technique to assess the cell viability, micro to macro damage, cell division and cell counts, etc. Alizarin red S dye should not be used in in vivo evaluation, while trypan blue was very effective to evaluate the endothelial viability of donor cornea just prior to keratoplasty.
D000818:Animals; D000880:Anthraquinones; D002470:Cell Survival; D003315:Cornea / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D046508:Culture Techniques; D004727:Endothelium / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D006652:Histological Techniques; D006801:Humans; D013552:Swine; D014343:Trypan Blue
D000880:Anthraquinones; C010078:alizarin; D014343:Trypan Blue