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What Is Fluorescent Antibody Technique?

Fluorescent Antibody Technique is a diagnostic tool in which a fluorescent dye is added to tissue containing antigens. The result causes the targeted area to glow with ultraviolet light when viewed with a fluorescent microscope.

  1. Two Techniques

    • Either a direct or indirect method may be used. Antibodies are targeted in the direct method to specific tissue antigens for a one-step staining method. In the indirect method, two layers of primary and secondary antibodies are involved in the staining. Two commonly used dyes are fluorescein, which gives a green glow, and rhodamine, which glows orange-red.

    Antibody Types

    • Fluorescent antibodies are either monoclonal, made from the same parent cell, or polyclonal, derived from different cells. Human, mouse and rat genes are typically used for testing, while goat, mouse, rabbit and rat tissue may also be used as host cells.

    Detection

    • This technique is applied in a wide variety of medicinal and biological testing. In human tissue it is used to detect the presence of various pathogens such as influenza virus. Biological applications include detection of agents such as E. coli, giardia or cryptosporidium in soil or water.

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