Immunostaining by either format just as chemical staining ca

Immunostaining (by either format), just as chemical staining, can be performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissue sections, or on frozen sections. Stop and Think: What are the differences with regard to preparing these sections for staining? What are clear-cut advantages to any single method?

Solution

Immunostaining with paraffin-embedded tissues includes immediate fixing after harvesting while the frozen tissues are fixed immediately before staining. Paraffin-embedded tissues are preferred for maintainance of cellular structures while the frozen tissues are preferred for preservation of immunological activity. The frozen tissues ensure maintainance of labile antigenic sites which are otherwise damaged in paraffin embedded tissues.