[Histonet] Golgi stainembedding

[John Kiernan]

Dear Bob N.

If your archived tissue is in formaldehyde you probably will not be able to get Golgi preparations that are good enough for research purposes. 

There are plenty of published Golgi techniques for ideally fixed material (up to a few weeks). 

Researchers demanding perfect dendritic morphology (for counting dendritic spines, or making mathematical models of branching) often fix their specimens in Cox's solution and apply the alkaline developer to thick sections cut with a vibrating microtome (Vibratome or similar). This can provide superb Golgi preparations, even with the brains of adult animals. Kolb, at Lethbridge University, is a major proponent of these methods. His publications should be available in your library. Try Scopus or Web of Science. 
 
For good Golgi preparations you need to work closely with someone experienced with the various techniques and you must become familiar with the technical literature. Two books have chapters that serve as introductory reading:
Bradley, PB (ed) 1975. Methods in Brain Research . Wiley.
Santini, M. 1975. Golgi Centennial  Symposium. Raven Press.
  
There are two families of Golgi methods. The intracellular chromate ions may be precipitated by silver or mercury, and the results are not the same. I wish you well with obtaining good Golgi preps on fixed human brains. If you perfect the technique you will have the makings of a significant publication. 

John Kiernan
Anatomy & Cell Biology
University of Western Ontario
London, Canada.
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----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Nienhuis <bob.nienhuis <@t> gmail.com>
Date: Wednesday, August 8, 2007 14:59
Subject: [Histonet] Golgi stainembedding
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu

> Anybody have suggestions for alternatives to celloidin embedding
> for Golgi-Kopsch? Has anyone done it, and can point out some
> pitfalls I might avoid in doing it? I want to Golgi stain some
> archival human brain tissue.
> 
> I have not tried it yet, and understand it can be a bit tricky.
> 
> Bob
> nienhuis <@t> ucla.edu
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