In the mid-1960s, Rodbell was studying enzymes. At that time, the only test medium available was crude chunks of fat tissue. To get more precise results, Rodbell developed a method for isolating single fat cells from the fat tissue. Because fat floats, Rodbell first put the minced tissue in a liquid and then treated the floating cells with a substance called collagenase to separate the fat cells from other cells.
"Great," he shouted, but are they viable cells?"
–Bernardo Houssay
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Martin Rodbell, 1966
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Courtesy of the Rodbell Family
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Fat cells isolated by Rodbell's method.
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Courtesy of Dr. May-Jan Zarnowski and Dr. Joseph Brzostawski, NIDDK