The final aim of any immunohistochemical method is to detect the
maximum amount of antigen with the least possible background
(maximum signal-to-noise ratio). As a rule, with some exceptions,the more complex the technique, the more sensitive it is. The choice
of method will depend on the amount of antigen present, the level
of sensitivity required, and the technical capabilities of the laboratory.
There are numerous commercially available detection kits.
The methods included in this chapter use some of these commercial
kits in an automatic stainer, but manual staining following
these procedures is also possible. The number of steps that can be
done in the automatic stainer depends on the model.