Structural Biochemistry/Immunohistochemistry
What is it?
It is a method that is utilized to detect antigens on a cellular level within a tissue or population of cells. In nature, antibodies are created from lymphocytes (mammals) and B cells, these antibodies will recognize certain antigens and bind to their epitopes and promote antigen elimination. Many times certain areas under study are usually a small and specific site, with this blocking must be applied. Blocking is usually done by applying 5% of serum that is normal, this serum contains random host antibodies and allows these random antibodies to bind to the non-specific sites so that the primary antibody will only bind to the site of study.