COLLOIDAL GOLD PROBES IN IMMUNOCYTOCHEMISTRY - AN OPTIMIZATION OF THEIR APPLICATION IN LIGHT-MICROSCOPY BY USE OF SILVER INTENSIFICATION PROCEDURES

  • 1 January 1986
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 64  (2-3) , 139-145
Abstract
Colloidal gold particles are the markers of choice for ultrastructural localization of antigens. By reducing gold chloride with tannic acid and trisodium citrate, a broad range of narrowly determined particle sizes can be obtained. Such particles can easily be coupled to a number of proteins and the resulting conjugates are conveniently purified on a gel-chromatography column. Their application in light microscopy requires an amplification step with a silver physical developed. Silver-intensified colloidal gold probes can advantageously be used for immunostaining of cryostat, paraffin and plastic sections. Moreover, permeabilized cultured cells and whole-mount preparations can be stained with gold-silver techniques. Silver intensification does not affect reactivity of a number of tissue antigens, thus permitting double staining combinations with immunoperoxidase or immunofluorescence methods.