title: DiOlistics: delivery of fluorescent dyes into cells.
abstract: DiOlistic labeling utilizes a particle-mediated delivery system to incorporate dye into cells. Because of its random nature, this technique generates sparse fluorescent labeling which is well suited for the study of neuronal dendritic branching and dendritic spine morphology. DiOlistics is a quick, reliable and nontoxic method that can be used in combination with other techniques such as immunostaining, biolistic DNA transfection, and retrograde tracing. In this article, we describe the methods for diOlistic labeling of neurons from rodent brain slices using DiI and the imaging of neuronal and synaptic morphology using confocal microscopy.
authors.affiliation: Section on Neuronal Structure, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Nyssa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sherazee
authors.forename: Veronica A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Alvarez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019470:Biolistics / Q000379:methods*; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology; D049229:Dendritic Spines / Q000378:metabolism*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008863:Microspheres; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods*; D016707:Tissue Fixation; D014414:Tungsten / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D014414:Tungsten