QIMA Life Sciences offers immunolabeling services in order to detect the cell and tissue components in a tissue section.  Proteins of interest (antigens) are detected by using polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies specifically directed against the target proteins.

Our laboratory can perform immunolabeling by using either the direct approach (antibody directly coupled to a marker) or the indirect approach (unlabeled primary antibody specifically recognized by a marker-labeled secondary antibody) for immunolabeling  on different types of tissues: reconstructed tissues, human or animal explants and biopsies, paraffin embedded (FFPE) or frozen tissues.

The detection methods directly depend on the type of marker that is used. Our laboratory uses special in situ detection techniques: immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry.

• Immunofluorescence is a technique which consists in detecting and localizing a protein of interest using a specific antibody (directly linked to a fluorophore or detected by a secondary fluorescent antibody). Immunolabeling of proteins of interest is generally associated to nuclear labeling by Hoechst staining or by propidium iodide staining. This technique, when associated to an image processing program (e.g. ImageJ), can also generate fluorescence intensity data that can be analyzed quantitatively. It is also possible to perform co-labeling with this technique.

• Immunohistochemistry by enzyme detection is the second special in situ detection technique, which consists in detecting and localizing a protein of interest within a tissue section, using a specific antibody which will be detected by an enzymatic reaction (such as peroxidase) that generates a red precipitate from an AEC-type chromogen (Aminoethyl carbazole).