Microfluorimetric quantification of catecholamine fluorescence in rat sympathetic ganglia.

The formaldehyde-induced fluorescence (FIF) technique was used to generate catecholamine fluorophores in the perikarya of the sympathetic neurons in the superior cervical ganglion of adult rats. During microfluorimetric quantification, the photodecomposition was eliminated by a rapid measuring procedure with a small excitation field and by using only visible light between the measurements. The catecholamine fluorescence, induced in protein microdroplets with increasing noradrenaline concentrations, was linear up to 2 X 10(-2) M which exceeds the noradrenaline content of even the most intensively fluorescent neurons. Thus, the differences in fluorescence intensities directly reflect the physiological state of each neuron with respect to their catecholamine content. The mean histograms reveal the changes which can only occur in certain neurons, and which can disappear if the mean only is assessed. The microfluorimetric method was sensitive enough to detect even minute changes induced by reserpine treatment in the catecholamine content of the sympathetic ganglion cells.