In Receptor Binding Techniques, detailed experimental protocols devised by expert practitioners demonstrate the power of radioligand binding for studying a wide variety of receptors. The methods can be applied to G protein-coupled receptors, receptors with integral ion channels, and sites other than receptors, such as guanine nucleotide binding proteins, enzymes, transporters, and mRNA. The individual protocols encompass many different preparations, ranging from solubilized receptors, through membrane preparations, intact cells, and autoradiography in tissue slices, to PET and SPECT analysis of binding in living human brain. Along with the detailed, easily reproducible instructions, the protocols also take into account the problems inherent in the basic binding technique, such as common experimental artifacts and the definition of receptor sites, as well as problems associated with the use of particular ligands and receptor preparations.

Receptor Binding Techniques shows clearly how these techniques can be adapted to many different applications and fully utilized in drug discovery programs. It will be of high value not only to researchers new to the field of receptor binding, but also to more experienced workers, serving as an authoritative bench manual replete with optimalized practical methods and protocols.

Pharmacologists, neuroscientists, cell biologists, molecular biologists, and biochemists