Abstract
Since the mid-1960’s, neurobiologists, especially those working on invertebrate preparations, have employed intracellular injection of dyes to elucidate the geometry of single neurons responsible for a particular neurophysiological process. Procion yellow was first successfully used for this purpose in conjunction with fluorescence microscopy (Stretton and Kravitz, 1968). The technology of dye injection has advanced considerably with the recent introduction of cobaltous chloride as a dye (Pitman et al., 1972). After filling neurons with cobalt, the preparation is immersed in a solution of ammonium sulfide. A black precipitate, cobaltous sulfide, is formed, and neurons are elegantly delineated when viewed in whole mount. Because cobaltous sulfide is electron dense, tissues can also be examined by electron microscopy, a major advantage of cobalt in comparison with procion yellow.
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Mason, C.A., Nishioka, R.S. (1974). The Use of the Cobalt Chloride-Ammonium Sulfide Precipitation Technique for the Delineation of Invertebrate and Vertebrate Neurosecretory Systems. In: Knowles, F., Vollrath, L. (eds) Neurosecretion — The Final Neuroendocrine Pathway. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-12587-8_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-12587-8_6
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