IHC Polymer-based detection kits for human tissues

Detection kits for immunohistochemistry (IHC) based on the polymers method are more recent than traditional kits using avidin and biotin conjugates such as ABC kits. Polymer-based kits offer several advantages over ABC kits, especially for multi-staining (multiplex) applications on the same tissue section or where high levels of endogenous biotin may be a problem.

The IHC detection systems based on the polymers method consist of a polymer of an active enzyme linked to a secondary antibody specific for a target primary antibody. This format makes it possible to significantly increase the amount of enzyme present at the site of localization and therefore a greater signal by converting a greater quantity of substrate into precipitate. Moreover, this system allows a one-step protocol instead of two with the ABC system (biotinylated antibody + avidin-enzyme complex).

The polymers may be based on dextran or similar molecules which have a large size (causing problems in some tissues) or micro-polymers that penetrate more easily into the tissue sections.

Our polymer detection kits for human tissues are optimized for use on human tissue by absorbing the antibodies contained in the kits with human serum proteins. This absorption step makes it possible to eliminate the antibodies binding to these proteins and thus to eliminate a source of non-specific background noise.