What Is Included in This Book

Each chapter follows the order of these procedure steps and explains different options. The goal is to give enough information to design a procedure for a particular experimental need. In Chapter 9, Decision Method and Label, an Experimental Design Chart is presented that guides the decisions on reagents for specific experiments. 

It would be great if a single procedure was universal and could meet the needs of each individual scientist However, what typically happens is that each scientist has unique needs. Scientists looking for apoptotic enzymes in cardiac muscle, neuropeptides in the brainstem, and RNA-binding proteins in cultured cells cannot all use a single procedure. 

This book is intended for scientists who are working on research animals and cultured cells. The procedures described here give the best results with the easiest methods. Note that many older procedures and reagents are still used today, but they give less than ideal results. For example, the fluorophore FITC was the first fluorophore used for immunocytochemistry by Albert Coons in 1942, when he invented this field. Since then, three new generations of fluorescent compounds (Chapter 6, Labels) with improved photobleaching properties have evolved making FITC of historical interest for immunocytochemistry. 

For more experienced users, individual chapters can be used to guide a specific part of the immunocytochemistry method. For example, if the user needs to 

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