The use of microchemical techniques for the identification of new transmitter molecules in neurons

The author reviews available microtechniques and results on cellular analysis of single neurons emphasizing the identification of putative neurotransmitter molecules. Highly sensitive microquantitative methods for identification and assay of known and putative neurotransmitters have been developed within the last 15 years. Several of the methods reported in the article fulfill the requirements of both specificity and sensitivity for exploring and measuring the level of transmitter molecules in single neurons. Some of the available techniques, mostly those which associate GC or TLC with MS, have been able to unambiguously demonstrate the presence of putative neurotransmitter molecules, or at least of substances which are strongly suspected of fulfilling a functional role in the nervous system.