Generating a Glioblastoma Rat Model

Take an anesthetized rat.

Shave the scalp. Then, apply eye gel to maintain corneal hydration. 

Secure the animal on a stereotactic frame and disinfect the surgical site. Make a midline incision and retract it to expose the skull.

Drill a hole in the right frontal hemisphere to access the prefrontal cortex.

Position a stereotactically guided syringe containing a suspension of glioblastoma, or brain tumor, cells over the drilled site. 

Using a pump controller, inject the cell suspension into the prefrontal cortex.

Slowly withdraw the needle to prevent reflux of the injected cells. Then, seal the drilled site with bone wax.

Suture the surgical incision and disinfect the site.

Return the rat to its cage and use a red lamp to maintain body temperature.

Following injection, the brain tumor cells proliferate, infiltrate surrounding tissue, and induce angiogenesis, disrupting normal brain function and generating a glioblastoma model.

To inoculate the brain of an anesthetized 170 gram, female, fisher F344 rat with glioma cells, first, confirm sedation by lack of response to toe pinch. Remove the hair from eye-level to the back of the skull, and apply ointment to the animals eyes. Immobilize the animal in a stereotactic device. Disinfect the exposed skin with povidone iodine, and expose the skull with a 2 centimeters midline scalp incision. Using a diamond drill, make a 1 millimeter hole, 2 millimeter posterior, and 2 and a half millimeters lateral to the bregma in the right frontal hemisphere.

Next, load the needle of a 29 gauge insulin syringe with 5 micro-liters of cell suspension. And use a micro-syringe pump controller to inject the cells three millimeter deep into the skull under stereotactic guidance, and withdraw the needle slowly. Close the incision with bone wax. Then, suture and disinfect the skin with more povidone iodine. And use a red lamp to stabilize the body temperature of the animal, post surgery, with monitoring until full recovery.