A Micromethod for the Determination of Choline Acetylase in Individual Cells

Abstract

Abstract A micromethod is described for the determination of choline acetylase in single cells. The method involves the use of [ 14 C] acetyl CoA adn choline as suvstrates giving rise to [ 14 C] acetylcholine which is quantitatively precipitated as a reineckate. After washing the reineckate to remove the residual radioactivity of the substrate, the labelled reineckate is dissolved in acetone and counted in a scintillation counter. The method is suitable for the quantitative determination of enzyme activities in 50–100 individual cells per experiment. The sensitivity of the method is 10 ‐13 moles of [ 14 C] acetylcholine/hour.