preview

The History Of Immunostaining Methods

Decent Essays

The history of immunostaining methods began when Marrack produced reagents against typhus and cholera microorganisms, using a red stain conjugated to benzidin tetraedro (1) However, Professor Albert H. Coons from Harvard School of Medicine first introduces immunofluorescence. Coons initial attempts to label antibodies were unsuccessful as the labels were not visible enough under the microscope. In the early nineteen forties Coons, Creech, Jones and Berliner succeeded in tagging antibodies (2). These antibodies were used to detect foreign antigens in tissues. This involved using a single fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled anti-pneumococcal antibody to find pneumococcal antigens in mice injected with large numbers of pneumococci (1).
In 1959 Singer used an electron-dense protein in order to achieve ultrastructural localisation. The protein ferritin was used to tag an antibody because fluorescein lacks electron opacity. Electron microscopy could be used in immunohistochemistry as a result of this as the presence of iron in the protein makes it electron-dense (1). In 1965 Sternberger used uranium to develop the first electron-opaque heavy metal technique for ultrastructural localisation (3). Owing to the large molecular size of ferritin, ferritin-labeled antibody penetrates tissues poorly also heavy metal labeled antibody has provided insufficient increase in contrast at the sites of antigen-antibody reactions to be useful. Subsequently, the introduction of enzymes as

Get Access