Aqueous aldehyde (Faglu) methods for the fluorescence histochemical localization of catecholamines and for ultrastructural studies of central nervous tissue

Abstract

Aqueous solutions combining a high concentration of formaldehyde (4%) with low concentrations of glutaraldehyde (0.5–1%) have been used to simultaneously localize amines by the formation of fluorescent products and to fix central nervous tissue for electron microscopy. The fluorescence reaction is produced by the aldehyde mixture at room temperature and the fluorescence is stable when the tissue is maintained in aqueous solution. This means that nerve cell bodies and terminal fields which contain catecholamines can be located accurately in vibratome sections at the light microscope level and, after further processing, can be examined under the electron microscope. With 1% glutaraldehyde in the aldehyde mixture, ultrastructural details are well preserved; there is no significant distortion of any component of the tissue. If vibratome or cryostat sections are dried against glass slides, the intensity of the fluorescence reaction is enhanced and the sections can be permanently mounted.