Lead Citrate Staining
Lead Citrate Staining - Related Videos
03:44
Citrate Synthase Activity Assay: A Colorimetric Assay to Measure Mitochondrial Citrate Synthase Activity in Drosophila Tissue Homogenate
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2025
This video describes a colorimetric assay to measure the mitochondrial citrate synthase activity assay present in the tissue homogenate of Drosophila.
07:48
Staining Protocols for Human Pancreatic Islets
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Cited by 28 •
2012
This video demonstrates procedures for characterization of human pancreatic islets using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Pancreatic sections from head, body, and tail regions are stained by both H&E and IHC to determine islet endocrine composition (insulin, glucagon, and pancreatic polypeptide), cell replication (Ki67), and inflammatory infiltrates (H&E, CD3). The uncinate region is localized using IHC for pancreatic polypeptide.
09:40
Lead Analysis of Soil Using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy
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2023
Source: Laboratories of Margaret Workman and Kimberly Frye - Depaul University Lead occurs naturally in soil, in levels ranging from 10-50 ppm. However, with the widespread use of lead in paint and gasoline in addition to contamination by industry, urban soils often have concentrations of lead significantly greater than background levels – up to 10,000 ppm in some places. Ongoing problems arise from the fact that lead does not biodegrade, and instead remains in the soil. Serious health risks...
02:32
Sectioning, Staining and TEM Imaging of Embedded Exosomes: A Protocol To Visualize the Structural Features of Exosomes Using TEM
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2023
This video describes the technique for preparing a thin section of embedded exosomes. These sections can further be stained and imaged using transmission electron microscopy, or TEM, to study the structural features of exosomes.
04:30
A Colorimetric Assay of Citrate Synthase Activity in Drosophila Melanogaster
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Cited by 1 •
2020
We present a protocol for a colorimetric assay of citrate synthase activity for quantification of intact mitochondrial mass in Drosophila tissue homogenates.
FAQs
Lead citrate contributes electron-dense lead salts to the section. These deposits scatter electrons more strongly than surrounding biological material, creating differences in intensity in transmission electron micrographs. The resulting contrast makes boundaries and internal features easier to distinguish, particularly where membranes, vesicles, or organelles would otherwise be difficult to resolve.
Anionic cellular structures provide sites with which the reagent can associate, helping place electron-dense material within the section. This selective association contributes to differences between cellular components and their surroundings. In neural tissue, that distinction supports visualization of membrane-rich and organelle-rich features without treating all regions as equally contrasted.
The resulting micrographs can show neuronal membranes, synaptic vesicles, mitochondria, and myelin as distinct ultrastructural features. Examining these elements allows investigators to assess synaptic organization alongside the condition of axons and other cellular compartments. This is especially relevant when comparing normal tissue with axonal pathology or broader ultrastructural changes in experimental models.
A typical workflow places the reagent after tissue fixation and resin embedding. Researchers then apply lead citrate to ultrathin sections before examining them by transmission electron microscopy. Keeping the sequence explicit matters because staining is performed on prepared sections, while the microscope records the enhanced electron contrast needed to interpret membranes, vesicles, mitochondria, and myelin.
The sequence matters because lead citrate is applied to ultrathin sections rather than described as a treatment of unprocessed tissue. Fixation and resin embedding therefore precede staining, producing the section in which the reagent associates with anionic cellular structures. The prepared material can then be examined by transmission electron microscopy for ultrastructural analysis.
This approach is useful when experiments require ultrastructural information about synaptic organization, axonal pathology, or changes associated with neurodegenerative and other experimental models. By improving contrast in transmission electron micrographs, it helps investigators examine neuronal membranes, synaptic vesicles, mitochondria, myelin, and related organelles within the prepared neural tissue section.