Immunofluorescence Techniques Applied to Mitotic Chromosome Preparations

Immunofluorescence has proven to be a powerful technique for the in situ localization of antigens at a cytological level. Whether utilized to determine the cellular distribution of known antigens using defined antibodies, to aid in the characterization of novel antigens recognized, for example, by autoimmune sera, or to screen monoclonal antibodies for their cognate antigens, the immunofluorescence method has the merit of combining high sensitivity with the ability apparently to “visualize” antigens directly.