Antigen detection on resin sections and methods for improving the immunogold labeling by manipulating the resin

S.-H. Brorson

Department of Pathology , Ullevål Hospital, Oslo, Norway

Offprint requests to: Dr. Sverre-Henning Brorson, Department of Pathology, Ullevål Hospital, Kirkeveien 166, 0407 Oslo, Norway

Summary. Considering the importance of immuno-localization of cellular substances combined with good ultrastructure and ease of use, this review is focused on the use of resin and the possibilities of manipulating the resin before and after embedding in order to improve the immunolabeling of resin sections for electron microscopy. The qualities of acrylic resins and conventional epoxy resin for immunoelectron micro-scopy are discussed. Acrylic sections are usually more suited for immunoelectron microscopy than conven-tional epoxy sections. Different etching procedures (sodium ethoxide or sodium metaperiodate) may be applied to conventional epoxy sections to enhance the yield of immunolabeling. Lately, a method which does not involve any kind of etching has been developed for enhancing the immunogold labeling of epoxy sections up to about 8 times. This method involves increased concentration of accelerator in the epoxy resin mixture when processing the tissue. The ultrastructural preservation of the tissue is important in immuno-electron microscopical procedures, and not only the intensity of the immunolabeling; in this respect no resin may compete with the widely used epoxy resins. Histol Histopathol 13, 275-281 (1998)

Key words: Acrylic resin, LR-White, Epoxy resin, immunogold, Electron microscopy

DOI: 10.14670/HH-13.275