Presentation of human neocortical neurons stained with the carbocyanine dye dil compared to the Golgi silver impregnation technique.

The carbocyanine dye Dil (1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate) not only serves as an excellent neuronal tracer, but also produces staining of neurons similar to the results of the Golgi technique. In one aspect staining with Dil seems superior to the Golgi technique: the axons are well stained and show morphological details of their structure. The dendrites and the spines can also be studied easily so that this technique seems to be a promising alternative of the Golgi technique. The fading of the fluorescence could probably be overcome by photoconversion of the stained neurons.