For the best experience on the Abcam website please upgrade to a modern browser such as Google Chrome

Hello. We're improving abcam.com and we'd welcome your feedback.

Hello. We're improving abcam.com and we'd welcome your feedback.

Infomation icon

We haven't added this to the BETA yet

New BETA website

New BETA website

Hello. We're improving abcam.com and we'd welcome your feedback.

Take a look at our BETA site and see what we’ve done so far.

Switch on our new BETA site

Now available

Search and browse selected products

  • A selection of primary antibodies

Purchase these through your usual distributor

In the coming months

  • Additional product types
  • Supporting content
  • Sign in to your account
  • Purchase online
United States
Your country/region is currently set to:

If incorrect, please enter your country/region into the box below, to view site information related to your country/region.

Call (888) 77-ABCAM (22226) or contact us
Need help? Contact us

  • My account
  • Sign out
Sign in or Register with us

Welcome

Sign in or

Don't have an account?

Register with us
My basket
Quick order
Abcam homepage

  • Research Products
    By product type
    Primary antibodies
    Secondary antibodies
    ELISA and Matched Antibody Pair Kits
    Cell and tissue imaging tools
    Cellular and biochemical assays
    By product type
    Proteins and Peptides
    Proteomics tools
    Agonists, activators, antagonists and inhibitors
    Cell lines and Lysates
    Multiplex Assays
    By research area
    Cancer
    Cardiovascular
    Cell Biology
    Epigenetics
    Metabolism
    Developmental Biology
    By research area
    Immunology
    Microbiology
    Neuroscience
    Signal Transduction
    Stem Cells
  • Customized Products & Partnerships
    Customized Products & Partnerships

    Customized products and commercial partnerships to accelerate your diagnostic and therapeutic programs.

    Customized products

    Partner with us

  • Support
    Support hub

    Access advice and support for any research roadblock

    View support hub

    Protocols

    Your experiments laid out step by step

    View protocols

  • Events
    • Conference calendar
    • Cancer
    • Cardiovascular
    • Epigenetics & Nuclear signaling
    • Immunology
    • Neuroscience
    • Stem cells
    • Tradeshows
    • Scientific webinars
    Keep up to date with the latest events

    Full event breakdown with abstracts, speakers, registration and more

    View global event calendar

  • Pathways
    Cell signalling pathways

    View all pathways

    View all interactive pathways

IO Month - session 2 - 952x200

IHC and ICC: Common abbreviations

Related

  • Introduction to IHC
    • Tips for designing a successful IHC experiment
      • IHC Application Guide

        An explanation of the different IHC/ICC applications that we list on our datasheets, and what they refer to

        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  

        ICC 

        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) 

        Fixation: immersion  

        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) 

        Fixation: immersion 

        Sample is frozen prior to sectioning 


        Direct or indirect colorimetric / fluorometric detection 

        IHC-FoFr

        Immunohistochemistry (perfusion fixed frozen sections) 

        Fixation: perfusion 

        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 

        IHC-Wmt 

        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: 


        • Immunofluorescence (IF) can include IHC and/or ICC. It refers exclusively to fluorescent detection being used on any type of cell or tissue sample and can be combined with any antibody-related application.

        ​​ 

        • IHC-P, on the other hand, refers to any IHC method where the tissue is embedded in paraffin. This means that subsequent immunostaining and detection could involve different approaches (e.g. colorimetric fluorimetric). When we list IHC-P as an application, we guarantee both colorimetric and fluorimetric detection to work.

        ​



        Get resources and offers direct to your inbox Sign up
        A-Z by research area
        • Cancer
        • Cardiovascular
        • Cell biology
        • Developmental biology
        • Epigenetics & Nuclear signaling
        • Immunology
        • Metabolism
        • Microbiology
        • Neuroscience
        • Signal transduction
        • Stem cells
        A-Z by product type
        • Primary antibodies
        • Secondary antibodies
        • Biochemicals
        • Isotype controls
        • Flow cytometry multi-color selector
        • Kits
        • Loading controls
        • Lysates
        • Peptides
        • Proteins
        • Slides
        • Tags and cell markers
        • Tools & Reagents
        Help & support
        • Support
        • Make an Inquiry
        • Protocols & troubleshooting
        • Placing an order
        • RabMAb products
        • Biochemical product FAQs
        • Training
        • Browse by Target
        Company
        • Corporate site
        • Investor relations
        • Company news
        • Careers
        • About us
        • Blog
        Events
        • Tradeshows
        • Conferences
        International websites
        • abcam.cn
        • abcam.co.jp

        Join with us

        • LinkedIn
        • facebook
        • Twitter
        • YouTube
        • Terms of sale
        • Website terms of use
        • Cookie policy
        • Privacy policy
        • Legal
        • Modern slavery statement
        © 1998-2023 Abcam plc. All rights reserved.