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There are a range of different approaches to immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunocytochemistry (ICC) including variations in sample preparation and/or staining. Each approach has a commonly used standard abbreviation. For any given antibody or reagent, we use this standard notation on our datasheets in order to specify the types of sample preparation / staining that each product should work for, as covered by our Abpromise™ guarantee.
See below for a summary of the different IHC/ICC applications that we list on our datasheets, and what they refer to
Application | Summary | Sample prep | Detection |
Immunocytochemistry | Single cell layer deposited onto slide or plate Fixation: immersion - generally in PFA or methanol | Direct or indirect colorimetric / fluorometric detection | |
IHC-P | Immunohistochemistry (paraffin-embedded) | Sample embedded in paraffin prior to sectioning Deparaffinization of slides required prior to staining | Direct or indirect colorimetric / fluorometric detection |
IHC-Fr | Immunohistochemistry (frozen sections) | Sample is frozen prior to sectioning | Direct or indirect colorimetric / fluorometric detection |
IHC-FoFr | Immunohistochemistry (perfusion fixed frozen sections) | Sample is frozen prior to sectioning | Direct or indirect colorimetric / fluorometric detection |
IHC-FrFl | Immunohistochemistry (free-floating frozen sections) | Fixation: Immersion and perfusion Sample is frozen prior to sectioning Immunostaining takes place with the sample floating in solution. | Direct or indirect colorimetric / fluorometric detection |
Immunohistochemistry (whole-mount staining) | Fixation: immersion Tissue is not sectioned; immunostaining takes place on small pieces of tissue, usually embryos. Similar to ICC, but sample is generally much larger. | Direct or indirect colorimetric / fluorometric detection |
Note: there can be overlap between the different applications that we list on our datasheets.
For example: