This protocol utilizes lipophilic FM dyes to monitor membrane recycling in real time. FM dyes are virtually nonfluorescent in solution but when membrane bound are intensely fluorescent, combined with the flexibility of different emission wavelengths make these dyes an excellent choice for investigating clathrin-mediated endocytosis, among other membrane trafficking and recycling pathways.
Keywords: Clathrin-mediated endocytosis; Epifluorescence; FM dyes; Live cell imaging; Primary neuronal culture.